Fractures
by Xylobones
Summary: Sequel to Shards. Something is terribly wrong with Blurr. He's become violent, uncontrollable, lustful. Even Flash Bang can't stop him, and he's proving a danger to the whole family. But what's happening to him? M FOR A REASON!
1. Prologue

**!WARNING!**

**THE FOLLOWING FIC CONTAIN SCENES UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER AUDIENCES. APPROPRIATE WARNINGS WILL BE ATTACHED TO EACH CHAPTER, BUT THIS IS AN OVERALL WARNING. IF YOU CHOOSE TO IGNORE IT, YOU CANNOT BLAME ME IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY ANYTHING YOU READ.**

**With that over with:**

**It begins again!**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

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><p><em>It was dark. That was all he could tell you. That it was dark.<em>

_It was cold, too._

_Every direction was just empty blackness, no matter where he looked. Black, black, black._

_It was silent as well. There was no sound to be heard._

_But then there was. Somewhere in the dark, someone was laughing at him._

_And with something to hear, came something to see. Ahead of him, red optics._

_Red optics are only ever evil._

_The cold grew more intense, his systems were beginning to freeze. He was in trouble._

_The red optics grew closer. The laughing grew louder, more sinister. Something was coming._

_And he couldn't even run._

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><p><strong>I'm looking forward to this one, I really really am. <strong>

**There's not much to go with here but even so:**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	2. Vindictive Laughter

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS UNCHARACTERISTIC VIOLENCE AND POSSIBLE SCHIZOPHRENIA**

**I write about such lovely things, don't I?**

**Anyway, I've been watching gameplay videos of _Amnesia: The Dark Descent_ a lot recently, so much of the eventual themes of this fic are based on that.**

**It's a fucking scary-ass game, don't play it unless you've got balls of steel.**

**Yes, Bonesy swears a lot.**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

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><p><span>Chapter One: Vindictive Laughter<span>

Blurr woke with a start and a yelp, rolling off the berth. Flash Bang was there in a moment, helping her black armoured bondmate up. She looked down at him with concerned optics.

"Another nightmare?" she asked softly, caressing his faceplate.

"The same as always," Blurr replied, pushing himself onto his elbows. "They only ever get more intense."

Flash Bang looked over Blurr. She was worried, and she wasn't planning on hiding it. She rested her cranial unit against Blurr's and they simply sat together for a while. But then their peace was disturbed by a knock on the door.

"Can we come in?" came a little voice from outside. With a smile, Flash Bang moved to the door and opened it. Two little sparklings came in, one green and the other maroon, and rushed over to their mech creator.

"Is Blurry okay?" the maroon one, a femme, asked. Flash Bang scooped the little one up and sat her on her lap as she perched on the berth.

"He'll be okay, Rush," she promised. "He just needs some peace and quiet." She kissed the top of Rush's helm. "Gearshift, take your sister back to berth, please." Reluctantly, Rush lowered herself back to the floor, taking her brother's servo as Gearshift silently led Rush back out of the room, his faceplate creased with concern.

"This is getting out of servo," Blurr mumbled as he stood up, clinging to the berth for support.

"You're telling me," Flash Bang replied. "This is the eighth time this decacyle."

"It's not like I can stop it, Flash Bang. It's a _dream! _I can't control it," Blurr snapped. Flash Bang flinched, clearly hurt by Blurr's little outburst.

"I wasn't blaming you for anything," Flash Bang replied. Blurr looked at her, and his faceplate fell as he saw her expression of hurt.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I just... I don't know, Flash. I think I need some time to myself."

That wasn't going to come anytime soon, however. Blurr and Flash Bang managed to drift back into recharge again before long, but morning came too quickly for their liking. Blurr had a race to attend, but, for once, he didn't want to be in the spotlight. He didn't even want to be at home. He wanted to go somewhere where he could be entirely alone.

The race went by without a hitch. Blurr won, obviously, but even victory felt hollow and pointless to him. But what was wrong with him? Bad dreams could easily just be caused by a bad line of code or a system malfunction, but the hollow feeling he was plagued by was something else entirely. Either way, he went to the race medic to see if he could tell him anything.

"Everything checks out, Blurr, sir," the medic replied. "There's nothing wrong with your processor, or your body. If you're worried, I'd suggest going to Perceptor, he'll have a better idea than me."

Blurr walked back out onto the track to receive his medal, arms folded and annoyance spread across his features. He didn't really look where he was going until he slammed into the back of someone.

"I did not cheat!" the mech roared as he was shoved backwards. Blurr ducked to the side to avoid being trampled, only for the attacking mech to lash out in his direction, aiming for the other mech. Blurr narrowly dodged, but the defending mech's kick caught him right in the abdomen.

"Primus!" Blurr wheezed, dropping to his knees. The mech that'd hit him hardly paid him mind until Blurr had him pinned against a wall.

"What the Pit?" the mech cried, aghast. Blurr had one servo around his neck and wasn't being gentle. The other mech was cheering him on behind him, but Blurr didn't hear him. What he heard was the vindictive laughter from his nightmares.

_Do it!_

"Blurr!" came a cry. A pair of red servos grabbed his shoulders and began to pull him away. "Blurr, let him go!"

Blurr was suddenly himself again as Flash Bang turned him to face her. Her bright blue optics glared into his, and she was clearly upset. All the anger he'd inexplicably felt just vanished as soon as their optics met, and he found himself shaking.

"Flash Bang..." he whimpered. Flash Bang grabbed his servo and began to drag him out of the racetrack.

"We're going to Perceptor," she announced. "He'll know what to do. He _always _knows what to do."

But even Perceptor drew a blank.

"It seems that something is trying to alter your personality programming," Perceptor explained. Flash Bang had taken Blurr to see him the very next solar cycle. "However, I can't locate any viruses or anything else that could possibly be malicious to you."

"Alter my personality?" Blurr mused, worried. Flash Bang sat with her faceplate contorted in thought.

"Blurr, you don't think it could possibly be to do with your upgrade, do you?" she proposed. Blurr bit his lip module.

"I won't rule it out," he admitted. "But I didn't think Lockdown had done anything to my actual processor..."

"You let Lockdown upgrade you?" Perceptor asked. Had his voice had any emotion, he may have sounded revolted. Blurr ignored his question.

"I have to go see him," he decided.

"You'd go into the stockades just to see if Lockdown did something to you?" Flash Bang demanded. "What if it's nothing?"

"Flash, these dreams have been plaguing me for lunar cycles," Blurr retorted. "I can hardly recharge at night anymore. And that outburst at the tracks... that wasn't normal. That wasn't _me!_"

"It might sort itself out..."

"I thought you weren't so disapproving of Lockdown?" Blurr snapped.

"Blurr!" Flash Bang hissed. "Not here!" Perceptor raised an optic ridge but otherwise didn't react to the mini domestic playing out in his lab.

"I'm going, Flash," Blurr growled. "You can come, too, if you want." Flash Bang folded her arms and looked away. Blurr just huffed and turned, heading to leave Perceptor's office. The door slid shut behind him and Flash Bang collapsed into a chair.

"I don't know what to do," she moaned. Perceptor stood in front of her.

"I didn't save Blurr just to see the two of you get into trouble with each other," he said to Flash Bang, who tried not to groan at the sound of his voice. "I don't know what's happening to him, but he will need you. He is struggling to contain himself, Flash Bang, and as his bondmate, you're in the best position to help him out."

"But I don't know what to do for him," she confessed. "Honestly, Perceptor, I'd scour the galaxy for him if I just knew what to _do." _

"Maybe going with him to see Lockdown is all you can do at the moment," Perceptor offered. "How did Blurr come to be upgraded by him, anyway?"

"I'd... rather not say," Flash Bang replied. "It's a long story and I don't care to recall it right now."

"Very well," Perceptor replied. "But really, Flash Bang, go after Blurr."

Reluctantly, Flash Bang rose from her seat and left.

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><p>Blurr didn't stop for any of his fans as he stalked along the streets towards the stockades. His frustrated demeanour kept most of them away, anyway. He just didn't understand Flash Bang sometimes. She wanted nothing more than to help him one moment, and then the next she was trying to prevent him from finding out the truth. Why was she so convoluted? Why couldn't she just have a one track processor like other femmes?<p>

_No, _he thought, _that's a terrible thing to think._

But he didn't just think his little reprimand; he _made_ himself think it, as if he were telling one of his sparklings off for saying something mean. He stopped in his tracks for a moment and held his cranial unit in his servos, trying to shake away the increasingly negative thoughts that were passing through his processor. What was going on? Why was he turning so... dark?

Dark like the armour.

His digits tightened on his cranial unit to the point where his helm began to bend inwards. He didn't stop, though, until he felt someone else's servos on his.

"Blurr," Flash Bang said softly. "Look at me." She gently pried his servos from his helm and held them tightly in her own as Blurr opened his optics and looked at her. Concern was scrawled across her faceplate, and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Whatever is happening to you, I am going to help you through it," she promised. "I love you, Blurr, and I don't want to see you struggle alone."

Love surged through both their sparks, and Blurr drew Flash Bang up into a passionate kiss. "Thank you," he whispered as he pulled away. "Thank you so much for everything you've ever done for me, Flash. From saving me from the incinerator to this."

"I haven't even done anything yet," Flash Bang chuckled.

"You've done more than I could ask by just being there for me," Blurr replied. He hugged her so tightly she gasped, though it wasn't uncomfortable. She buried her faceplate into his shoulder, content in the feeling of being in his arms. A moment later, she pulled away from him and took his servo, leading him towards the stockades.

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><p><strong>Aww~<strong>

**I did tell you all this was going to be dark - and we've hardly scratched the surface yet!**

**Please review!**

**:D **


	3. Forget His Worries

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS NEARMISS SPARKLING ABUSE AND NEARMISS RAPE AS WELL AS MORE SCHIZOPHRENIA.**

**One day, someone's gonna shoot me.**

**Anyway, nothing particularly graphic, but still take the warning seriously, please!**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

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><p><span>Chapter Two: Forget His Worries<span>

"You have visitors, Lockdown," the guard announced. Lockdown didn't move. There was very little he could do by way of movement when he had no support servos. He grunted at the guard in acknowledgement, but his attention was entirely caught when Blurr and Flash Bang walked into view.

"You two?" he asked, surprised. "Whaddya want?" Flash Bang charged right up to the bars and pointed a digit at him, threateningly.

"We want to know what the Pit you did to Blurr!" she raged. "His processor's gone haywire!"

Lockdown gave Blurr a look over, admiring his handiwork on the armour. "Well, Ah lost me support servos thanks to him. Seems things only got worse fer the both of us."

"This isn't funny!" Blurr roared. "What the slag did you do to me?" Lockdown simply reclined on the berth he was laid out on.

"Nothin' more than Ah told ya before," he insisted. And that was all he would say.

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><p>"Well, that was productive," Blurr spat.<p>

"Let's just get home," Flash Bang said. "Gearshift and Rush will be hungry for their afternoon Energon."

Flash Bang made a point of taking Blurr's servo in hers as they walked along. He didn't say a word, but his digits tightened around her servo. He didn't know what to think, so he just tried to forget his worries and smiled for his sparklings as they walked into their home.

"Blurry and Flashy are home!" Rush cried as she dashed out of her and her brother's playroom. The little femme was a lovely maroon colour – similar to some parts of Flash Bang's armour, but the rest of her was clearly Blurr. With a forced grin, Blurr knelt down and scooped up his little femme creation. Gearshift appeared not long after, with a composed grin on his faceplate. He'd calmed down a lot since being protoformed, but where his calm attitude came from was a mystery.

"Are you two hungry?" Flash Bang cooed. "Want some Energon soup?"

"I want Energon goodie cake!" Rush demanded. Flash Bang raised an optic ridge.

"You can have some later," Flash Bang replied. "It's soup or nothing, young lady."

"But I want cake..."

"Listen to your femme creator, Rush," Blurr snapped a little harder than necessary. The little femme flinched away from him, which was hard seeing as he was holding her. Flash Bang frowned and took Rush from him, giving him a warning glare.

"I'll get you both some soup," Flash Bang continued as if nothing had happened.

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><p>It was days later when Blurr had another outburst. Rush had dashed into the penthouse with Gearshift hot on her heel struts and had crashed into Blurr. He hadn't fallen, but it had been more than enough to annoy him. He'd turned to face the little femme and had gone as far as raising a servo to strike her before Flash Bang had come in.<p>

"Blurr! What are you _doing?" _ Flash Bang roared, clamping her servos on his arm. Gearshift ran up behind Rush and pulled her away as their femme creator began to pull Blurr back. "Blurr, stop it! Look at me!"

They were struggling a moment longer, but soon Flash Bang managed to pin Blurr down, thankful for the extra strength she'd received from her upgrade when she'd become a dancer. She managed to knock him over onto a table, keeping him in place by straddling him and holding him down with her servos.

_Take her._

Blurr had to shake away the inappropriate thoughts as he was held in place. He had to admit, though, the position they'd ended up in was rather... mature. But suddenly he snapped back to normal and was looking up at Flash Bang with confusion.

"What...? Flash, what-?"

_Isn't she pretty?_

"You were going to hit Rush! What the Pit were you thinking?"

_Don't you want to just to interface with her?_

"I... I wasn't..."

"No, you weren't thinking, were you?" Flash Bang snapped. "Blurr, this is getting terrible. We need to do something about this!"

_Ignore her. Didn't you like femmes for their chassis before? This one's far too mouthy. Very pretty little thing, though, wouldn't you say?_

Flash Bang glowered at Blurr, and the look only intensified when she felt heat come from his crotch plate.

"What is _wrong _with you?" she demanded. Her anger had turned to confusion and frustration. Blurr just tried to rid himself of the thoughts flowing through his processor. She _was _pretty, he _had _preferred the more thoughtless femmes, she _was _mouthy.

Gearshift had taken Rush to the playroom in order to try and keep her busy, which was good. Blurr slid his servos up Flash Bang's sides until they came to rest against her chest plate. He pushed against her and flipped her onto her back so that their positions were reversed. The action caught Flash Bang by surprise, and she was suddenly more concerned for herself than for her creations. Blurr was shaking, although why, Flash Bang wasn't sure. But then she noticed his optics. They weren't blue.

They were red.

"_Blurr!" _she screeched, suddenly trying to free herself. "Blurr, what is _happening_ to you?"

_Go on, take her! She's yours, isn't she?_

Blurr couldn't stop himself. He pinned Flash Bang's servos down above her cranial unit and began rocking his crotch plate into hers. She began to whimper as she realised what was happening, but soon began her best attempt at squirming out of his grip.

"Let me go!" she begged. "Blurr, please, stop it!"

Both of her servos were held in one of his as his other one travelled down towards her crotch plate. The feeling of him touching her there, despite the situation, made her gasp hotly. Blurr began pulling the plate off, but Flash Bang managed to free a servo. Throwing the free servo back, she prepared a flash bang charge, which she threw directly into Blurr's faceplate. With a yell, he fell backwards in agony, allowing Flash Bang to scramble back to her support servos. She backed away from Blurr, cowering into a corner, as he rolled around on the floor with his servos over his optics. But after a while the pain faded, and not only that, but the urges went, too. He was left lying on his back, staring at the ceiling with blue optics again and nothing but disgust at himself surging through his processor.

It was all getting worse. The violence, the lack of control, the _voice_... He couldn't be at home. He needed to get away. Not because he wanted to, because he _needed _to. He was a threat to his loved ones and even Flash Bang's presence wasn't stopping his outbursts. He pushed himself up off the floor.

"Flash, I'm so sorry," he whimpered. "I don't know what's happening to me."

Flash Bang didn't move from the corner. She just looked up at Blurr with lubricant tears in her optics. She'd been able to stop him before now, but this time he'd tried to... She couldn't think it. It made her sick. She wanted to scream at him, but nothing came from her vocal processor.

As neither one could say anything, Blurr just turned and ran out of the penthouse, pain forcing him out the door.

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><p><strong>D:<strong>

**Why oh why am I so mean to my characters? Not that Blurr belongs to me...**

**(One daaaaaaaay)**

**Anyway, as always:**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	4. Burning in Her Optics

**!WARNING!**

**Actually, this one is fairly clean… unless you're homophobic because there is SUGGESTED HOMOSEXUALITY.**

**A few bits of news:**

**1) There won't be another chapter for the next two weeks as I will be in Austria on holiday.**

**2) I have signed up for an Open University course called "Start writing fiction" which will start in October and I CAN'T FRICKING WAIT! :D**

**3) In a totally irrelevant matter, my fingers have gone orange thanks to hair dye.**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

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><p><span>Chapter Three: Burning in Her Optics<span>

"Back so soon?" Lockdown grumbled. Flash Bang couldn't have looked more sinister as she glared at Lockdown through the bars of his cell. He didn't look at her; he just stayed as he was, reclined on his berth as always. "Where's the speedster?"

Flash Bang snarled. She'd never been so infuriated before, and all of her anger was directed at Lockdown. "I don't care what the Pit you said before! _What did you do to Blurr?"_

Lockdown finally looked at her, and was almost surprised by the stress and anger burning in her optics. Even so, he kept his cool as he always, much to Flash Bang's annoyance, did.

"Ah already told ya, Ah upgraded him," he replied.

"With _what?" _Flash Bang pressed. "Where did you get the plans you used?"

"Why should Ah tell ya?" he quipped. Flash Bang's glare turned to sinister smirk, optic ridge raised slightly.

"Because I know where you hideout is," she reminded him. "We wouldn't want anyone to find it, would we? Might land you an even worse sentence than you've already got…" Lockdown was suddenly interested.

"Scalpel," he said simply. "He's a Decepticon medic and one Pit o' a sadist. He came up with the plans fer the Vortex Upgrade. Ya want more answers, ya find him."

"How did _you_ get it?"

"How d'ya think?" Lockdown spat. "Ah stole it. Was still in development when Ah did, though."

"Where can I find Scalpel?"

"No idea," Lockdown answered. "Nobot's seen him in stellar cycles."

"Well, I'm sure I'll be able to track him down," Flash Bang replied. "I'd thank you, but the way I see it, you _owe _me this."

Without waiting for a curt response, Flash Bang left.

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><p>Flash Bang was running around the penthouse hectically, grabbing supplies and making sure everything would be okay for Nanny Mercury and "Uncles" Wheelie and Dug Base to sparkling-sit her two younglings. A few solar cycles had passed since Blurr's departure, and Flash Bang had done everything in her power to keep calm. He hadn't returned, and neither had he sent her any messages or anything else to calm her nerves. Worry was the only thing she felt, and it was showing. Gearshift and Rush watched their femme creator as she buzzed about, Rush thinking it was some kind of game as she sat upon Mercury's knee, but Gearshift knowing full well something was wrong. Wheelie and Dug Base had yet to arrive.<p>

"I can take care of everything, Flash," Mercury insisted. "I already told you that I closed the shop."

"I don't get why you did, though," Flash Bang replied. She was half trying to distract herself from what she was doing.

"A mysterious benefactor gave me a large payment of credits for the business," she replied. "And I've wanted to retire ever since I got grand-sparklings." She gave Rush a hug as she said this. The maroon sparkling squealed in delight.

"I don't want to leave you on your own with these two little monsters," Flash Bang said, trying to put on her maternal demeanour for her sparklings. Gearshift's frown didn't go away, however, but Rush huffed.

"I'm not a monster!" she cried. Mercury tickled her, causing the little one to squeal and giggle.

"But I am," Mercury chuckled. "I'm the tickle monster!"

Flash Bang finally took a moment to get herself together. Gearshift went and sat with her, hugging her around the waist. Flash Bang put her arms around him and hugged him back.

"Will Blurry be okay?" he asked quietly.

"He'll be fine, Gearshift, I promise," Flash Bang said weakly. She wanted so badly for that to be true, but she just wasn't sure.

"Gearshift, Rush, why don't you two go play?" Mercury said softly. "I want to talk to your femme creator for a little while."

Gearshift got up straight away, but Rush was a little reluctant to go. Eventually, Gearshift came and led her out, although she looked back at the older femmes as she was towed away.

"Blurr will never abandon you, Flash," Mercury told her creation softly. "Not if he can help it. He left because he was afraid of hurting you or the sparklings."

"What makes you so sure?" Flash Bang replied. "You didn't see him when he…" She shivered. "... when he tried to interface with me. His optics went red."

"But they went back to blue," Mercury reminded Flash Bang. The younger femme had told her everything, and Mercury was trying her best to counsel her creation.

"Exactly, they were blue when he left," Flash Bang retorted. "He left of his own accord."

"For the reason I just gave you," Mercury replied. "He loves you, Flash. _And_ you're bonded. He can't truly turn against you now. No matter what happens his spark will long to return to you."

"But what if this… this "Vortex Upgrade" overrides our bond? What if he _can't _come back to me?"

"Then I myself would be glad to hunt him down to the ends of Cybertron," Mercury replied. After a moment's pause she asked, "I never told you about when I met Blurr as a rookie, did I?"

Flash Bang was suddenly interested. "No," she replied. "What happened?"

"Well," Mercury began, reclining into her seat. "It wasn't long before I bonded with Gearshift – the _original _Gearshift. Blurr had just participated in his first ever race, and won it, too. To celebrate, his friends brought him to the club I owned – do you remember it?"

"Club Mercury," Flash Bang replied. "How could I forget?"

Mercury chuckled. "Well, as soon as he came in, I could tell there was something special about him. He seemed so meek back then, not the confident and famed racer _you_ know. After he'd visited the club, I began to take an interest in the races, and Blurr was always my favourite. He wasn't always arrogant and aloof – he was loyal to his friends and a good natured bot. I remember once, one of the racers crashed and was seriously hurt, but Blurr went back to help him, sacrificing his lead to see to it that he was taken care of. It wasn't until the fame really hit him that he became full of himself and proud, but even then, I think it was for the sake of appearances."

"So how come he doesn't remember you?"

"He got _very _over energised," Mercury grinned. "I don't think even your quest to restore his memories will have brought _that_ night back. But trust me when I say this – if he's run away, it's because he doesn't want to be a danger to you."

Mercury was a femme of many talents, but none were greater than her ability to see the truth in everything. Flash Bang was certain she'd been built to be a policebot, but Mercury had never joined the force. In fact, her entire life had been about entertainment until Gearshift had "died". It wasn't a subject that was brought up often, but Mercury had worked at a dance club for almost her entire life, eventually taking it over when the previous owner retired. It was so rarely mentioned because the club had almost everything to do with the foundations of Mercury and Gearshift's relationship.

But Flash Bang didn't care to dwell on the distant past. She looked up at Mercury fondly.

"Thank you," she said earnestly. "Through everything, Mercury, you've always helped me. I just wish I could do more for _you_, rather than dump my sparklings on you."

"If you want to make it up to me, you can go after your speedster," Mercury replied, a warm smile on her faceplate. "Don't worry about the younglings, I'm sure their... uncles... and I can keep them in check."

"You have a thing about Wheelie and Dug Base, don't you?"

"I just find it a little odd about how two so distinct mechs can get along so flawlessly," Mercury replied. "Are they... you know, "involved"?"

"Mercury!" Flash Bang gasped, appalled. "Please, for the love of Primus, _don't say anything_ to them when they come!"

"And be a bad hostess? Never," Mercury chuckled.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Flash Bang rose from her seat and opened it up, greeting Wheelie and Dug Base and leading them inside. Flash Bang couldn't get the images out of her cranial unit that had been placed there by Mercury, but she gave her friends a strained smile as they entered.

"Dug Base: come with Flash Bang," he offered. Flash Bang shook her cranial unit.

"No, Dug," she replied. "This is for me to sort out."

"We'll be here to back you up, be sure to call us if you get stuck," Wheelie promised. Flash Bang's smile widened. She really did like these two.

"Thank you, I promise I will," she replied. "Now, I have to get moving. Blurr isn't going to save himself."

"Make haste, as they say, and come back in one piece, alright?" Mercury said to her, giving her a hug. "Don't do anything that will only make the situation worse."

"I won't," Flash Bang replied, although it wasn't a promise.

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><p><strong>They make quite a cute little family, don't they?<strong>

**:3**

**Anyway, I do apologise for the two week gap. The chapters are already written but I may edit them whilst on holiday. I'm taking my laptop, so I'll have plenty time to work.**

**So goodbye for two weeks, everyone!**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	5. The Place Where it All Started

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF ROBO-GORE, A TRACE OF ORGANIC-GORE, MORE SCHIZOPHRENIA AND A BAD ATTEMPT AT WRITING A GERMAN ACCENT**

**By the way, mech fluid = one of many fluids in the **_**Transformers**_** universe comparable to blood.**

**I liiiiiiiiiiiive!**

**I am ever so sorry for leaving you guys hanging for **_**two weeks, **_**but I'm not one to turn down a holiday. Especially one to a place that is rather inspiring for my novel, which is currently at about 35,000 words out of 100,000.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry for the wait. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**:D**

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><p><span>Chapter Four: The Place Where it All Started<span>

Flash Bang knocked on the door to Searchlight's home. It was on the edges of Iacon, where it was more secluded and quiet – an atmosphere that Searchlight appreciated when trying to crack a case. It wasn't a seedy area, in fact it was quite pleasant, and inexpensive to boot. Flash Bang enjoyed leaving the hustle bustle of Iacon's city centre to visit her old friend, but her preferences were not of importance right then.

The door slid open and Searchlight was stood in front of Flash Bang. He looked a little irritable, but it wasn't at her.

"So, where do we start?" he asked, leading her inside.

"Right here," Flash Bang replied. "I was hoping you may have something on a 'Con named Scalpel in your files."

"Let's take a look, shall we?" Searchlight replied. He walked from the hallway to his office, which was a tiny room filled to the brim with data pads, all stacked haphazardly on his desk and the surrounding shelves. Searchlight started looking through his files, dodging out of the way as one pile fell down with a clatter.

"Did you ever think about getting some filing cabinets?" Flash Bang quipped. Searchlight rolled his optics as he found the pad he was looking for. He turned to Flash Bang as he turned it on. With a _beep,_ a meagre amount of information flashed up on the screen. Flash Bang assumed not a lot was known of him. She took the data pad.

_Name: Scalpel  
><em>_Alias: The Doctor  
><em>_Allegiance: Decepticon  
><em>_Function: Medic (of debatable skill)  
><em>_Location: Under dispute  
><em>_Notes: A sadistic and cruel mech. Even his fellow 'Cons fear him for his merciless attitude when it comes to getting "repaired" by him. From what we can deduce, he's taken more 'Cons apart than he's fixed. He hasn't been seen since he left the planet several stellar cycles ago, but was reported to be heading towards the Autobot Mausoleum._

"The Autobot Mausoleum?" Flash Bang mused. "If he's there then surely he'd have been seen recently? Autobot fatalities aren't exactly rare... even with the end of the war."

"As long as there are Decepticons at large, there will _always_ be Autobot fatalities," Searchlight hissed.

"True," Flash Bang replied. "But we have our lead."

"What's the plan, then?" Searchlight asked. "Are we going to leave finding Blurr until later?"

"Nope, _you _aregoing to find Blurr," Flash Bang replied. "Your detective skills should help you out. In the mean time, I'm going for the Mausoleum."

"How are you going to _get_ to the Mausoleum?" Searchlight asked. "It's floating around in space!"

"Mercury has offered me her ship," Flash Bang replied. "Which is nice. I, uh, "borrowed" it last time..."

"As I heard," Searchlight retorted, one optic ridge raised mockingly. "Does it have a working communicator these days?" Flash Bang rolled her optics and ignored his question.

"Right, the sooner I head off, the better," Flash Bang declared.

"And leave me with no idea where to start?" Searchlight asked. When Flash Bang opened her mouth to reply he raised a servo to silence her. "I was joking, Flash. I'm going to try the Sonic Canyons – where else better to go when you're having a breakdown than the place where it all started?"

"I'll contact you as soon as I get to the Mausoleum," Flash Bang promised, putting the data pad with the rest of her things.

"And I you if I find anything," Searchlight replied. "Don't do anything stupid, alright?"

Flash Bang grinned. "When do I _ever_ do anything stupid?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Everything<em> I do is stupid," Flash Bang moaned as she found herself floating amongst the stars. "Why did I think it a good idea to go after a sadistic Decepticon medic on my own? He's probably some massive brawler with a hammer for a surgical tool."

The ship was making a beeline for the Mausoleum, and all Flash Bang was doing was carefully manoeuvring it out of the way of asteroids and bits of decommissioned machinery. She enjoyed going off planet, but leaving Blurr behind was taking its toll on her spark. She rubbed her chest plates in a futile attempt at soothing the ache. Not only was it hurting from separation, it was hurting because Blurr was hurting.

_Sparkbonds, _she thought, _as much of a curse as they are a blessing._

It then it hit her that having Searchlight go after Blurr rather than herself probably wasn't the cleverest move. But when she offlined her optics and focused on the bond, she found herself pushed away, like Blurr didn't want her to find him. _Was_ that the case? Or was it the upgrade playing havoc with him? Flash Bang just ignored her lack of planning ability and sped the ship up. She wanted to get this over with.

It was maybe a megacycle later when the Mausoleum came into view. It was a small grey box, or so it looked from where she was, but as she grew closer, she could see the ornately crafted metal pillars and doorway, the arched glass roof and the glowing orbs providing light. Seen closely, it was beautiful.

There was a small landing platform before the doors, which towered high above Flash Bang's little ship. She brought the ship down as gently as possible, already feeling a resounding aura of respect around the building. She quickly tapped a message into the communicator for Searchlight before turning and heading for the hatch. She stepped from the ship as quietly as possible, wincing as she heard her support servos clatter against the metal floor. Every step seemed to send a calamitous echo throughout the area.

Flash Bang put a servo over her spark as she came to the doors. They were open the slightest amount, and a thin trail of mech fluid led inside. She already felt sick. She pushed the door open further and followed the trail inside. As soon as she entered, the trail turned into a huge puddle, and she found herself wading in mech fluid.

"By Primus, who did this?" she gasped. On the other side of the puddle, the trail continued, only it was wide and looked to have been made by a body being dragged through the bluish liquid. It led deeper into the Mausoleum, rounding a corner and disappearing into the dark. Sucking in a deep intake to steady her nerves, she followed the trail.

_Drip, drip, drip. _Flash Bang shivered. It wasn't just being surrounded by the dead that was scaring her, it was the feeling of something watching her. But she held herself together and told herself firmly that zombies only existed in science fiction.

_Tap, tap, tap. _It was getting a lot colder, as well. The further in she went, the more she shivered. But she didn't let it bother her... not until the possibility of the cold being used to deep freeze the dead so they didn't come back to life crossed her processor.

_Clang, clang, clang. _The noises she could hear were getting louder and it was almost as if the bodies were trying to bash their way out of their tombs. Out of the corner of her optic, she saw a flash of blue, but when she turned to look, it was gone.

But as she looked at where she thought she'd seen the blue, she realised which tomb she was looking at. It was Prowl's. With a slight gasp, she clapped her servos to her chest plate and bowed her cranial unit. She uttered a near silent thank you to him for his sacrifice, which seemed so long ago. She tried to imagine herself doing something so brave, but she shivered with fear at the thought of dying.

The flash of blue again. It was like Blurr's old armour, only the brief flash really was a _flash_. It wasn't a substantial thing; it was light. Flash Bang looked about her to see where it went, and sprinted in the direction she thought it had gone. She hit a dead end, but the light had led her to another tomb.

_Gearshift – lost but never forgotten._

Flash Bang dropped to her knees. The tomb was empty, of course. The official story was that his body had been stolen by Lockdown, which it had... sort of. But when Gearshift truly had died, Lockdown had taken his body into a shallow cave, stepped back and blasted the cave mouth, causing a cave in that blocked the opening and sealing Gearshift's body in forever.

A rippled of pain tore through Flash Bang. She tried to brace herself against the pain, but couldn't stop the lubricant tears dripping down her faceplates. She placed a shaking servo against the cool metal where his name was branded and wept freely. How could she do anything else?

_THUD!_

Flash Bang was dragged from her mourning as something heavy fell to the floor. She leapt to her support servos and looked back – down another gallery of tombs, oil was quickly spreading across the floor from a doorway that had been broken open. Inside, it was pitch black, and other than leaking oil, there was no sign of anything being inside.

Flash Bang stood and walked over to the tomb, stepping as quietly as she could. There was a constant _tap, tap, tap _and a quiet muttering in some unintelligible voice. Flash Bang prepared a charge in her servo and looked into the tomb. She couldn't see anything except for a tiny sliver of white light that reminded her of the lights used in the infirmary. The light was constantly moving about, lighting up what looked like the desecrated remains of a body.

Unsure as to what was before her, Flash Bang walked inside as quietly as possible. The light continued its examination of the corpse, evidently not knowing Flash Bang was there or otherwise not bothered. That was what Flash bang assumed, at least, until she accidently knocked something heavy over.

_THUD! _

_BANG!_

_SMASH!_

The light leapt into the air and looked back at Flash Bang, who was struggling to wriggle out from beneath whatever it was that had fallen on her – a case containing vials of liquid, each with a tiny organic life form suspended in it, all of which was now dripping from Flash Bang's armour. There was an enraged squeal and a rapid tapping sound that drew close to Flash Bang's cranial unit. She soon felt something poking at her helm, which she swatted away, only to have something even sharper stab her servo.

"Ouch!" she yelped. She tried to bring her fist down on whatever was poking her, but it just ran out of the way.

"Vhat do jou think jou are doing here?" a high pitched voice demanded. "And look at vhat jou have done to my collection of organic younglings! Do jou know how hard it vas to get those? I had to pull them right out of the organics they vere growing in!"

Suddenly disgusted, Flash Bang managed to slither out from under the shelf, using the liquid to her advantage. She looked about herself for the source of the voice, but even the light was gone now. The tapping noise was running circles around her, but whenever she looked at where she thought it was, it was somewhere else. Before long, she'd had enough.

"Hold still and let me see you or I'll use my flash bang charges!"

The tapping stopped. Clearly this had been enough of a threat to stop whatever it was.

"Alright," said the voice. "I am over here."

Flash Bang looked where she was directed to, and suddenly a large light clicked on, illuminating the tomb. But where Flash Bang was looking, there was nothing, just empty air and dust motes floating aimlessly in the light.

"Hey, no tricks!"

"Look _down, _jou stupid femme!" Flash Bang did so. Then she laughed.

Scalpel, for there really was nothing else he could be called based solely off his appearance, was stood at her support servos. He was tiny, so small that Flash Bang could easily hold him in a single servo. He had huge optics and six legs as well as tiny, pincer like servos. Long story short, he looked like an insect.

"Vhat's so funny?" he demanded as Flash Bang struggled to contain herself.

"Nothing," she lied. "I was just expecting somebot... larger."

"Pah! We'll see what jou think of size vhen I'm done taking jou apart!" he hissed, but Flash Bang merely picked him up and held him tightly in her servos. He squirmed about but was unable to move.

"Your profile said you were feared by even the 'Cons," she mused. "I can't see you as being particularly dangerous..."

"Unhand me and jou shall see _exactly _vhy they call me dangerous!"

But Flash Bang had no intention of complying. Out of the corner of one optic, she saw a small cage, the perfect size for Scalpel and with an open lock hanging from it. Quick as she could, she threw Scalpel into the cage and locked it, not bothering to look for a key. She'd think about that later. Scalpel ran about the cage as best he could, pulling at the bars and yelling high pitched insults at Flash Bang. She shook the cage violently to shut him up.

"You're coming with me," she spat. "I hear that you created the Vortex Upgrade and you're going to tell me _all _about it."

"Vhat?" he squeaked. "That's top secret Decepticon information! How did jou come to know of it?"

"It was used on my bondmate," she hissed. Scalpel's erratic behaviour was calmed suddenly and he looked at Flash Bang cruelly.

"Oh really?" he sneered. "Now that's interesting... I still von't speak of it to _jou, _however."

"Back to Cybertron, then," she snarled. "A friend of mine's good at interrogation..."

* * *

><p>Blurr's vocal processor cut out. He wasn't surprised; all he'd seemed to do since leaving Iacon was scream. He'd struggled through the Acid Wastes, too afraid and disorientated to comment to himself on how the trip was even worse than the last time. He was exhausted, but didn't realise. The voice in his processor did nothing but taunt him.<p>

_This is fun, don't you think? _the voice asked, full of sarcasm. _It's like a road trip, only dangerous._

Blurr tried to ignore it, but it was getting harder. Every time it spoke he could feel he was losing a little more of himself to it. But he didn't even know what it _was._

Blurr realised he was on his knees, crawling desperately through the Sonic Canyons. He was concentrating so hard on not listening to the voice that nothing about his surroundings caught his attention. One thing he did notice was the pain in his spark. The ache was leading him back to Iacon, but there was something else there, too.

"What are you doing to me?" Blurr croaked weakly. He was shaking now.

_Well, you see, I've never been in a bonded body before, _the voice replied. _I'm curious to see if I can get your femme from here._

"You do anything to her..." Blurr began.

_And you'll what? _the voice demanded. _There is nothing you can do to me without damaging yourself._

It was megacycles later when Blurr found the place he was looking for. Lockdown's hideout was where he was turned into this shadowy version of himself, surely it'd be where he could be reverted.

_You won't find anything here to help you, _the voice hissed. But Blurr had already searched half the containers stacked against the wall, finding a new energy in himself as he became closer to what he hoped existed.

_I'm going to enjoy using you to kill the Autobots, _the voice mused. _Your speed is intriguing to me. Maybe I'll take your body back to the Decepticons after I'm done? I'm sure they'd love to see how you work._

"You won't get the chance," Blurr hissed. "I may not find a way to get rid of you, but I know Flash will."

_Keep dreaming, lover bot._

* * *

><p><strong>Bad German accent is bad.<strong>

**Anyone who spots the reference to Breakdown from Transformers Prime gets a, uh... hearty pat on the back?**

**Speaking of which: OMG, they're making us wait another week to see what happens after _that?_**

**Awesomeness - no worries, dude! I only got one chance to check my updates anyway so I don't mind ^^**

**Anyway, please review!**

**:D**


	6. No Longer Blue

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SELF HARM, INSANITY AND A HOPEFULLY UNFORSEEN SURPRISE**

_**Still**_** no **_**Transformers Prime**_** episode 24? BUT I WANT IT! D:**

**Or have I just failed at checking?**

_**Dr Who**_** is back, though – that ought to keep me entertained for now...**

**(Fezzes **_**are**_** cool.)**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Five: No Longer Blue<span>

Searchlight managed to find his way back to Lockdown's cave without much difficulty, seeing as he'd had time to _prepare. _He huffed as he remembered how Blurr had stupidly led him through the Acid Wastes without any form of supplies. This time, however, he had his ship filled with medical packs and Energon, not only for himself if he found he was in trouble, but also for Blurr. Searchlight had no idea what state the speedster would be in when – or _if_, he thought – he found him.

He brought the ship down next to where Lockdown's was, untouched since it had been used to take Flash Bang to the Sonic Canyons. A small space was available next to it that was a perfect size for Searchlight's tiny ship. He ran a quick scan of the area, picking up an energy signature that was moving about at high speeds inside Lockdown's cave. Blurr still functioned, then. Assuming it was him. There wasn't enough room in the cave for Blurr to get up to full speed – it could have been another speedy bot.

Searchlight left the ship and walked over to the cave, short sword in servo, just in case. He had no intention of harming Blurr, but he didn't want to get hurt, either. And if it _was _somebot else, well, better safe than sorry.

As Searchlight approached the cave, he could hear a frantic babbling coming from inside, typical of Blurr. But he seemed afraid, so much so that his usual speedy speech was rocketing to the point of being completely unintelligible. Searchlight wasn't sure what to expect as he stepped inside, but his jaw dropped as he saw the total chaos that the cavern hideout had faced.

Everything was tipped onto the floor, the computer's screen was smashed, prized mods were broken and lying on the ground in shattered pieces, containers of Energon had been spilled and the puddles covered most of the floor. Searchlight picked his way through the mess, careful not to tread in anything or slip on the puddles. Blurr wasn't in sight.

"Blurr?" Searchlight called out. "Blurr, where are you?"

The frantic voice stopped, simultaneous to a screech of breaks. It was dark in the cave, so Searchlight light up his characteristic searchlight in order to be able to see. There was a surprised clatter of support servos against the ground as Blurr moved out of the beam of light, but Searchlight certainly caught sight of his black armour.

"Calm down, Blurr," Searchlight ordered. "I'm here to help."

"He'll kill you," Blurr warned. His voice was a quiet and shaky hiss.

"What?" Searchlight asked. "Who are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Blurr was right in his faceplate. But something was terribly wrong. His helm was missing, leaving his cranial unit bare, and showing Searchlight the scratches that he guessed were self inflicted. On closer inspection, he realised they weren't just scratches, they were gouges, and even slivers of his plating had been pulled off, showing tiny glimpses of his bare processor. Not only that, but his optics were no longer blue – they were purple.

_He's insane! _Searchlight suddenly realised.

"Primus, Blurr," Searchlight gasped. _"What's happening to you?"_

"_Vortex!" _Blurr yelled, causing Searchlight to flinch back. _"Vortex will kill everyone!"_

"Vortex? The _upgrade_ did this all to you?" Searchlight demanded.

"Not upgrade..." Blurr huffed. He was erratic. "Worse – far, far worse. Evil... separate... _not- not me...!"_

"Blurr, I can help you," Searchlight begged. "Come back to Iacon with me. I'll get you some help."

"No!" Blurr insisted violently. "Vortex will kill all the Autobots! Can't hurt them... don't want to hurt them!"

Searchlight just stared blankly at Blurr and raised his servos towards him, trying to keep him calm.

"You won't get any better out here," he told him, softly. "If you come back to Iacon, the medics can help you. You won't hurt anyone, and your family wants you home."

"_NO!"_ Blurr yelled. Suddenly, the katana the original Gearshift had given him was glinting in the light, aimed at Searchlight's chest plate. _"They'll all die!"_

Blurr moved to attack, but Searchlight got there first with his short sword and blocked. Blurr was strong, but so was Searchlight, they were almost level in their stalemate, but Searchlight moved his support servos into a better position and managed to shove Blurr back. The speedster went flying backwards and crashed against a glass case. The shards of glass flew everywhere, a few sinking into Blurr's bare cranial unit. But he just got back to his support servos and took another lunge at Searchlight.

Searchlight wasn't an idiot. He knew a bad situation when he was in one. Evading Blurr's attack, he knocked another broken case on top of him, pinning him down, and ran back to his ship. He shot a glance back at the cave as he opened the hatch. Blurr had managed to get out from under the case, but, for some reason, was unwilling to leave the cave. He stood, his optics now red, staring at Searchlight.

"_You'll all die," _he said. But his voice wasn't his own. It was disturbingly slow and cruel, as if every word was filled with a malice spawned from the very source of evil. It was as if something incredibly malevolent had taken complete possession of Blurr. Searchlight glared back.

"We'll get you back," he vowed. "Whatever happens."

* * *

><p>Flash Bang was feeling a little better. She'd captured the source of her troubles, so surely things could only go up from here? Then again, it did depend on how successful Searchlight had been. Scalpel was still in the cage, poking at the lock with his claws. He hadn't said another word since they'd left the Mausoleum, but Flash Bang was certain Searchlight could drag something out of him. But life is rarely so easy.<p>

Flash Bang wasn't paying the insectoid mech any attention as she piloted the ship back to Cybertron, and this was probably her worst mistake of the solar cycle. Either that or putting the cage somewhere that wasn't in her line of sight as she piloted the ship. She was bored of being amongst the stars and was longing to land. Not only that, but she had a peculiar feeling that someone else was onboard the ship with her and Scalpel. Letting her nerves gat the better of her, she cast a glance back over her shoulder. Nothing.

She huffed loudly, trying to settle herself, and forced herself to concentrate on what she was doing, but it didn't help. The feeling was intense and, if she'd been human, the hairs on the back of her neck would have been standing on end. She shivered as it was, but took a firmer grip of the controls and tried to push the feeling away. It didn't help.

_Click._

And neither was it her worst problem.

"I'll take jou apart, jou vorthless femme!" Scalpel, free from his cage, squealed. Suddenly, he was on Flash Bang's cranial unit, poking and pulling and pinching at her like a scraplet. Flash Bang jumped in surprise and fell from the chair, trying to swipe at Scalpel. But he was small and agile, and was causing her a great deal of grief. He crawled out of her reach, dodging her flailing servos for just long enough to get near her faceplate – in particular her optics. He raised one of his tiny, pointed legs, aiming to strike and blind her in the right optic. Flash Bang had no time to react, all she could do was shutter her optics, but that wouldn't stop him.

_Whoosh!_

Blue was all she could see, and for a moment, she thought she was back at home with old Blurr's blue armour obscuring her vision. She was wrong, however, because it wasn't armour, it was light.

The light from the Mausoleum.

There was a surprised yelp as the light took hold of Scalpel and pulled him from Flash Bang's faceplate, followed by a piercing scream as the light _entered _him. The tiny mech was left floating in the air for a split second, only to drop to the floor, immobilised, the next. Flash Bang could only stare at him.

"What the Pit was that?" she demanded to herself. In answer, the light returned from Scalpel's body. Flash Bang yelped and stepped as far back as she could, but the blue came towards her. She was almost blinded by the brightness of it, but then it faded to a brilliance that she could just about stand to look at. As it did so, it took on a familiar shape. It looked just like… like Prowl.

With a gasp, Flash Bang realised that what hovered before her was the ghost of Prowl.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay!<strong>

**I can't say I have an explanation. I just thought it'd be cool to bring the character with the most tragic death in **_**Transformers Animated **_**into the story.**

**A hearty pat on the back for DarkGlass38 for spotting the Breakdown reference!**

**:P**

**Awesomeness – as long as you don't disappear forever, I will survive.**

**If you **_**do**_** disappear forever, I may struggle.**

**:P**

**And OH MY GOD, I went clubbing for the first time in my life and I thought I'd hate it but I actually had so much fun it's unreal.**

**Nerds can party, too!**

**Anyway, please review!**

**:D**


	7. Going Through the Tale Again

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A GHOST AND AN ANGRY FLASH BANG AND A DISTURBING LACK OF BLURR**

**Yeah, I'm sorry for that. But this chapter serves its purpose so don't hate me!**

**E****njoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Six: Going Through the Tale Again<span>

"Oh my spark…" Flash Bang gasped. _"Prowl?_ But how?"

With a gentle smirk, Prowl replied. "Gearshift asked me to come. He wasn't allowed to leave the Well of All Sparks, like I am."

"Wait, what?" she said, raising her servos. "Start from the top, preferably."

"Very well," Prowl replied. "But you may want to lock Scalpel back in his cage."

Flash Bang did so, finding a better lock amongst the crates in the back of the ship. She was still shaking from the surprise of seeing not just a ghost, but _Prowl's _ghost. After locking Scalpel up securely, she returned to the cockpit, put the ship into autopilot, and turned to face Prowl's ghost, which was hovering cross-legged in midair.

"Gearshift was not killed by Lockdown, was he?" Prowl's ghost asked. He clearly knew already, but Flash Bang answered with a nod. "Tell me what happened."

Flash Bang relayed the tale to the ghost, not bothering to stretch the truth. What point was there in lying? He was a _ghost, _and he probably knew most of this already_. _All the while, Prowl studied her with a perfectly blank faceplate. Flash Bang huffed inwardly at the knowledge of how ninja-bots could hold their expressions so perfectly. She couldn't tell, because even as a ghost, his optics were covered by his opaque visor, but he was looking at her with concern in his optics as he took in every word.

"So you've seen him since he… since he died?" Flash Bang asked, her voice shaking. She was on the verge of tears, just from going through the tale again. But Prowl was not unsympathetic.

"Yes," he told her with a restrained voice. "He was not allowed to leave the Well of All Sparks, not even to look after you on your journey. But, as you can tell, I am allowed to leave."

"Why? What did _you_ do that he didn't?"

The ghost did not answer straight away. Flash Bang didn't know this, but he wasn't entirely sure himself.

"From what I have learnt," he began, slowly, "Gearshift committed crimes that even his self-sacrifice could not make up for."

"Well, he _killed_ 'Cons, if that's what you mean," Flash Bang answered.

"I do not know what his crimes were," Prowl's ghost replied. "But they were terrible enough to keep him from leaving, yet not enough to stop him from entering in the first place."

Flash Bang sat down on the pilot's chair and held her cranial unit in her servos. When she had first realised that this thing before her was _Prowl's ghost, _she had, for just a moment, believed that there was some slight chance at seeing Gearshift once more. This told her otherwise. But what had he done?

"I am sorry for all that has happened to you, Flash Bang," Prowl said softly. "Truly. To have lived with the thought of your mech creator dead for millennia, only to find him and then to lose him again… I cannot imagine what that's like."

"It's nothing for you to worry about," she replied. With a deep intake, she turned the seat to the controls and began piloting the way back home. "You're here to stay, then?"

"For now," Prowl's ghost replied. "Gearshift asked me to watch over you for the time being. He's fully aware of what is happening to Blurr."

"Does he know how to stop it?"

"No," Prowl's ghost replied. "And neither do I. It is for you to solve, Flash Bang. But from my perspective, it seems you've made a good start."

"So that was you in the Mausoleum, too?"

"Yes," the ghost answered. "My body is my last tie to this plain of existence, meaning I can only pass between the Well and the living world through it."

"Complex."

"You have no idea."

* * *

><p>Searchlight was sure to write down what had happened on the nearest available data pad as soon as he returned to his office. He quickly typed in the glyphs as his processor raced, trying to work out what was happening to Blurr. He didn't have as long to work as he'd expected, as Flash Bang arrived shortly after with a rattling cage. Prowl's ghost was nowhere to be seen, not that Searchlight knew of him.<p>

"Did you find him?" she demanded as soon as he opened the door. Searchlight had never seen her so focused, but it was evident that Blurr was all she could think about.

"Yes, Flash, and he really isn't in a good way," Searchlight replied, trying to be gentle. "He's literally tearing himself apart."

"What?" Flash Bang screeched. "He's hurt?"

"Not badly, but if we leave him for long, it'll get a whole lot worse," Searchlight explained. He told Flash Bang what had happened and what he'd learnt, about how Blurr seemed to be somewhere between insane and Decepticon. Flash Bang took it all in, her optics filled with pain. Searchlight could tell she blamed herself for this.

"If I hadn't been an idiot and allowed myself to be dragged off by Dark Spark, this would never have happened!" she yelled. Tears were spilling from her optics. "I did this. I did this to Blurr and now he's in more trouble than I can handle."

"That's why _I'm_ here," Searchlight told her.

"Why do you think he's out in the Canyons?" Flash Bang asked, regaining control of herself.

"My guess is he's trying to revert to his old self," Searchlight replied. "And where better to start looking than the place where he was turned into… this… in the first place?"

Flash Bang didn't speak. She just stared blankly at the floor.

"Did you find Scalpel?" Flash Bang snapped out of her daze and held up the cage. Scalpel was back online, but less focused on trying to break out of his prison. The new lock wasn't one he could pick with his claws. But his small size made Searchlight chuckle. "I was expecting bigger."

"Same here," Flash Bang replied. "He's not said a word since I locked him up."

"Well, I'm sure I'll be able to coax something out of him," Searchlight said, darkly. He took the cage from her and put it on his desk, sitting in his chair and looking at him.

"So, Scalpel," he began, "care to tell me what your upgrade did to my friend's bondmate?" Scalpel just looked at him with piercing red optics.

"Top secret Decepticon information is _top secret _for a reason," he spat. "Vhy should I tell _jou?"_

"Because I'm the only thing between you and the Elite Guard," Searchlight retorted. "See my friend here? She'll give you to them in the blink of an optic if you don't cooperate. She's stubborn and once her processor is set on something, she doesn't back down. You'll tell us or you won't taste freedom ever again."

"Jou Autobots are all the same," Scalpel hissed. "Jou hide avay in jour fancy little homes and act like jou own the vorld. But jou don't. Cybertron belongs to the Decepticons, and in the name of Megatron, I shall _never_ divulge the information jou require. It vill be interesting to see vhat happens to… Blurr, vas it? I do believe that vas who jou mentioned. Yes, it vill be _very _interesting to see how it affects _him._"

Flash Bang's fist came down next to the cage, rattling it and knocking Scalpel off his spindly little support servos.

"You _will _tell us what the Pit the Vortex Upgrade is or, so _help _me, I will not just give you to the Elite Guard – I will give you to them in _pieces!"_ Flash Bang raged. As if to prove her point, she took steel rod from the desk and snapped it in two with ease, much to Searchlight's annoyance, although he said nothing. Scalpel looked a little surprised at the femme's brute strength, but called her bluff.

"No," he spat. Flash Bang grabbed the cage and threw it at the wall. Scalpel went tumbling in the confined space with a clatter, and was dazed as Flash Bang took the cage for another throw. Before chucking it once more, however, she bent the bars inwards, confining his space.

"You really think I'm joking around, Decepti-freak?" she hissed. "You're in for a _world _of pain if you don't cooperate with me."

Scalpel finally seemed to realise just how close he was to being severely dismembered and, with a terrified squeal, gave in.

"Fine!" he yelled. "I shall tell jou."

Flash Bang set the cage back down on the desk. Searchlight took a blank data pad and prepared to write what they were told.

"The Vortex Upgrade vas a veapon," he began, "but not one for us to use against jou Autobots directly. The Upgrade's vas to be implemented as a revolutionary reformatting process that vould allow jou Autobots the vortex-creating jump that Blurr now has, assuming the upgrade vas properly used."

"But why do that?" Flash Bang demanded. "Why make _us _stronger?"

"Because it had to be a convincing front, no?" Scalpel replied. "The Upgrade was bugged vith a virus that vould reprogram those it vas used upon into a Decepticon, eventually creating an army of enhanced Decepticon soldiers. Can jou imagine the power ve vould have gained?"

Both Flash Bang and Searchlight cast their processor back to when they'd seen Blurr jump after being upgraded. The power was phenomenal, sucking even Shockwave into the powerful vortex from which the upgrade took its name.

"The Autobots that vould have become Decepticons vould have turned against their own in solar cycles, tearing jou goody-goody Autobots apart in a matter of decacycles. The carnage vould have been beautiful to behold!"

"So why has it driven Blurr insane?" Searchlight pressed, his voice taking on a dark tone.

"The reprogramming feature vas never finished," Scalpel explained, sounding almost remorseful. "Everything to do vith the project vas stolen by that imbecile Lockdown, before it vas done. Ve vere so close to completion, as vell."

"So what does it _do?"_ Flash Bang persisted.

Scalpel looked up at her, a dark mocking in his optics. "The reprogramming feature developed into a whole separate personality, inhabiting the bots it vas used on and driving them insane until it took over their bodies for itself. On test subjects, it called itself Vortex."

* * *

><p><strong>Oh noes!<strong>

**Sorry for the serious lack of Blurr in this chapter - he's coming back with a bang next week, I swear! But hey, at least things have been explained!**

**And YAY! Transformers Prime starts over here in England today! Shame I'll be at work, but oh well, it's on record.**

**And now I am off to play retro video games in preparation of the release of Star Fox 64 3D on Friday...**

**Lastly - check out my new blog! Just click the "Homepage" link on my bio to go there :D**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	8. Trials and Tribulations

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SADISM, A LOAD MORE SCHIZOPHRENIA, VIOLENCE, SELF HARM, ANOTHER APPEARANCE FROM ANGRY FLASH BANG, ANOTHER RAPE ATTEMPT AND POSSESSION OF THE GHOSTLY VARIETY**

**Dude, what?**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Seven: Trials and Tribulations<span>

"_GET OUT OF MY CRANIAL UNIT!" _Blurr roared, throwing himself into yet another shelf. How there were any left standing was a mystery. Blurr had literally been beating himself up ever since he'd arrived at Lockdown's cave, and the destruction was obvious. Blurr's frustration and fear couldn't have been more obvious, and all he wanted was for all his trials and tribulations to come to an end. Hadn't he battled and defeated his greatest foe already? Clearly not.

_I'm worse than anything you'll ever meet, _the voice hissed. _I'm so bad that I make that Shockwave freak look good._

"What the Pit do you _want_ with me?" Blurr spat.

_Fun, _the voice replied. _All I want is some _fun_. And you've provided me with more than any other bot has done before. I was _so _close to getting a taste of that Flash Bang femme. You're lucky, you know, I told you nobot else I've worked on has had a bondmate. It seems I can't get her from here, but I'll drive her mad, too, when I'm done with you._

Blurr threw himself cranial unit first into a wall. He was determined not to let this "Vortex" have its way.

_And then, when I'm done with her, I'll pick apart your sparklings. Then I'll work my way through every other bot I can get _your_ servos on. And you know what the worst part is for you? I'll make you _watch_._

Blurr screamed till his vocal processor cut out, throwing himself about with his digits digging into the plating of his cranial unit. He had no idea where his helm was, and he didn't really care. He was losing himself to this… this thing, and all he wanted was to pull it right out of his cranial unit.

He collapsed in a heap on the ground, suddenly exhausted. He didn't know what to do, but for every second that passed, Vortex gained a little more ground.

This wasn't a fight that Blurr could win.

* * *

><p>Flash Bang just sat where she was. She sat and stared at Scalpel, who seemed more than happy to watch her have a breakdown over Blurr's situation. Had he had lip modules rather than mandibles, Scalpel would have been grinned menacingly.<p>

"How do we stop it?" Flash Bang said, too calmly. Searchlight was tense, prepared for her to lash out at any moment.

"There is _one _vay," Scalpel replied. "But jou von't like it."

"Try me."

"A spark transfer," Scalpel answered simply. "Jou vould need to remove his spark and place it into a new protoform, followed by a complete reboot of his processor."

"Complete reboot?" Searchlight repeated, aghast. "But that would-"

"Wipe his memories," Flash Bang finished. Her voice was too quiet and too steady. Her spark was turning over the Decepticon medic's revelation in as many ways possible, determined to find a way around it. But her processor told her it was no good. She was going to lose Blurr, even if they saved his life.

Searchlight took a deep intake and put a servo on Flash Bang's shoulder. "His health should be our main concern for now, Flash," he told her softly. "And don't forget – you two are _bonded. _Even if he loses all of his memories, he'll still love you, even if he doesn't know why." Flash Bang was tense, Searchlight could tell she was about to pounce.

"_YOU'RE LYING!" _she screamed. _"WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH?"_

She leapt to her support servos and took a hold of the cage, too fast for Searchlight to react. Scalpel yelped as his prison rocked viciously. Searchlight managed to pry the cage out of Flash Bang's servos before she could throw it out of the window, placing it on the desk and then forcing her to sit back down.

"Calm down, Flash, this won't help."

"Do you know _anything _about his life?" she continued. "Do you know he has two sparklings? And the best friends you could ask for?" She paused, gasping. "And… and me?"

Scalpel just chuckled cruelly. "Vhy in the name of Primus should I care about _any_ of that?"

Flash Bang went to leap at him again, but Searchlight held her back this time. She struggled against him, but he held fast. Before long, her struggles ceased, only to be replaced by tears,

"I can't lose him," she gasped.

"You won't, Flash," Searchlight promised. "You will never, _ever_ lose him. Not if I can help it. But all we can do now is go and get him."

Flash Bang went limp in his grip, but she still glared at Scalpel through her tears. "This is _your _doing," she hissed. "As soon as we no longer need you, I'll kill you."

Flash Bang had never killed anyone, but even Scalpel could hear just how serious she was being. Despite himself, the insectoid Decepticon shrank back into the cage, suddenly very, _very _afraid for his life.

* * *

><p>Searchlight was worried – he'd never seen Flash Bang like this before. She was silent, focused, her stubbornness had become cold determination and she never seemed to blink. He looked at her. She was so tense. Everything she did was with purpose, no waving her servo about as she looked for the right button or switch, just sharp, methodical precision as she powered up the ship. And to someone who knew her as well as Searchlight did, it was terrifying.<p>

Prowl was also worried. He had not revealed himself to Searchlight, but only so he could ponder over what he observed alone. He had only known the femme for a few months, and that was a long time ago now. But Gearshift… that was a whole other story. Prowl had looked up at the mech when he'd first joined the Cyber Ninja Corps, but that was not long before his… fall from Master Yoketron's good graces. Prowl was unsure just how much Flash Bang knew of Gearshift's Ninja Corps days, and thought it better to keep what he knew to himself for the time being.

Flash Bang did not falter in her course. She kept the ship steady as they flew over Cybertron, on a direct line for the Sonic Canyons. She seemed empty, hollowed by the notion of what had to be done to save Blurr. But she seemed to have distanced herself from what was to happen, concentrating solely on what she was doing at that very moment. The future did not exist to her.

Searchlight sat away from his friend, not because he was afraid of her new attitude, but because he wanted to give her space. It was what she needed. He kept Scalpel's cage in view, however. He wasn't going to let the little slagger cause any more trouble. But his concentration was drawn away from the tiny Decepticon as the ship began to descend.

"We're here," Flash Bang said flatly. She stood up and stalked out of the ship, past Searchlight without giving the slightest hint that she'd actually been talking to him. She could have been confirming it with herself, for all he knew. Before following her, he made sure his short sword was within reach.

Flash Bang didn't seem to be thinking; she just walked right up to the cave mouth and called out, "Blurr!" There was a loud crash inside the cave, and then red optics blinked into life in the shade of the hideout. Blurr was completely gone now.

"Blurr, it's me," Flash Bang said, emotion returning to her voice as she tried to sound comforting. "We've come to help you."

Unlike what had happened when Searchlight had fled the cave, Blurr stepped out into the light, leaving the safety of the shadows behind him. Flash Bang gasped when she saw him. The gouges in his cranial unit's plating were worse, entire pieces missing and leaking with Energon and mech fluid. His bare processor fizzed and sparked where it was exposed, and the rest of his body was covered in scratches and dents.

"Oh, Primus," Flash Bang gasped. "_Blurr?"_

A sinister grin spread across Blurr's faceplate. "Not _anymore," _he hissed in a voice that wasn't his. "I'm _Vortex_, now."

Flash Bang simply couldn't move. She just stared, her optics empty. After a moment, she tried to push out with her spark, to find _anything _of Blurr. But where the warmth of their bond usually was, she felt nothing but a black void.

Where they too late?

Flash Bang had no time to speculate. Vortex dashed at her, using Blurr's speed to grab her before she could react. The next thing she knew, she was on her back with him on top of her. She tried her best to get out from under him, but he'd already got his servos on her crotch plate. Flash Bang didn't know whether to huff in annoyance or scream as the incident that had driven Blurr to run away replayed itself.

"_Flash Bang!" _Searchlight yelled, running towards the two of them. But before he could help her, a flash of brilliant blue light appeared behind Vortex. Searchlight had no idea what it was as he skidded to a halt in shock, but something told him that, whatever it was, it was here to help, as it entered Blurr's body.

"Gyaaah!" Vortex screamed as Prowl's ghost fought for control over Blurr's body. Too distracted to hold her down, Flash Bang managed to get out from under Vortex, crawling backwards in order to get to safety. Who knew what could happen?

"Prowl!" she yelled. "Do whatever you have to do!"

But Prowl knew what he was doing already. He thought back to when he'd helped Omega Supreme break free from Starscream, and found that this situation wasn't so different. Only in this case, Blurr's processor was twisted and broken.

Prowl found himself in a dark place, but ahead of him, something was glowing brightly in the same shade of blue as he did as a ghost. Only here, in the limitless bounds a processor allowed, he was solid again. He transformed and sped towards the glow, but it never seemed to get any closer.

"Do you really think you can overpower me here?" Vortex's voice hissed. Prowl reverted to robot mode and looked about him.

"Where are you?" he hissed. "Show yourself!"

"This is _my_ _processor," _Vortex retorted. "I'm everywhere."

"You are a dismal excuse for a symbiotic life form, _parasite_."

"Life form?" Vortex spat. "I'm _so _much more than that..."

Crippling pain tore through Prowl, a sensation he had not experienced in quite some time. It was so strange, he felt almost happy to experience such a sensation, but at the same time, he knew he was in trouble.

"Blurr!" he called out. "If you can hear me, then _help _me!I can help you defeat Vortex, but _you_ musthold him back!"

The blue light surged brighter, but it was a struggle. It wasn't so much a surge as a throbbing – each time it became brighter, it quickly subsided, only to surge again. Blurr had heard Prowl, but he was struggling. Prowl tried to move towards the glowing light, but Vortex was keeping him perfectly in place with the intense pain.

"_BLURR!"_

Suddenly Prowl was enveloped in the light and at the same moment the pain lifted. Blurr was regaining ground. Prowl could feel him, feel him trying to reach out and break free. He allowed himself to be consumed by the light as Blurr connected to him.

"Prowl? What are you doing here? You died, didn't you? Or was it one of Vortex's illusions?" Blurr asked. His disembodied voice was weak and he sounded as if he'd been drained of all his energy. "He's shown me such awful things. Is... my family... who are they? Are they... alright?"

"Your family is fine, but Flash Bang will be hurt if you don't stop Vortex!" Prowl replied.

"Flash Bang," Blurr said, emptily. "She's... important, isn't she?"

"She is everything to you," Prowl replied. "Please, Blurr, _fight this! _You _must _regain control!_"_

But suddenly Prowl was overcome with pain once more, dropping to his knees as Vortex attacked him.

"You won't take this body from me!" he roared. "Blurr is far too valuable to me. Imagine the _ruin _I could cause with the fastest bot on Cybertron as my physical form!"

There was another, all consuming surge of blue.

* * *

><p>Flash Bang and Searchlight were doing little better. Vortex had been thrown off by Prowl's possession of him, but he was still writhing around viciously as the two bots held him down. Searchlight had him pinned down on his front as he held his servos behind his back, straddling him awkwardly. Flash Bang was on her knees in front of them, trying to put her servos on Vortex's cranial unit. He kept biting at her, however, and for fear of losing one of her digits she kept flinching away.<p>

"Come on, Prowl," Searchlight hissed. "Stop him!"

Vortex suddenly went rigid and froze completely before collapsing, totally limp in Searchlight's servos. Searchlight and Flash Bang looked up at each other, confused and rightly so. Had Prowl succeeded? With nothing less than caution, Searchlight released the mech beneath him and stood up, moving slowly to avoid sudden movements that may have startled the bot back into life. When he had moved away, everything seemed fine.

"Do you think Prowl's done it?" Flash Bang asked quietly.

"I certainly hope so," was Searchlight's only reply.

The two stood watching Blurr's body for a moment, unsure if they should wait for something to happen or start taking him back to the ship. The sound of the Sonic Canyons was deafening, and covered up the sound of Blurr's body booting up again.

Vortex leapt up, diving for Flash Bang. Searchlight barely managed to shove her out of the way in time, but Vortex was already lining up for his next move. Searchlight shoved Flash Bang back towards the ship, yelling at her to get inside where it was safe. But Vortex shot at her as she ran, and the ground beneath her support servos exploded.

Flash Bang screamed as she flew through the air, certain that she was to fall to her death. But she felt strong arms encircle her. She looked down, expecting Searchlight. She was surprised to see Blurr, optics struggling to stay blue.

Blurr landed on the landing platform, and Flash Bang wriggled out of his grip, fearful that he'd lash out at her again. As she stepped back, Blurr's perplexed faceplate became sinister again, optics reverting to red. A cruel grin spread across his lip modules.

"Sorry to get your hopes up, glitch," he hissed. He lashed out at her, but Flash Bang dodged and countered. For a while she managed to fend him off, but then she found herself trapped against Searchlight's ship with no room to manoeuvre. Vortex raised a fist, but before he could strike, Searchlight jumped him.

Caught by surprise, Vortex struggled to get the white mech off his back, shaking back and forth vigorously to try and loosen his grip. All the while he was taking steps back, getting closer and closer to the edge of the platform.

"_LOOK OUT!" _Flash Bang screamed. Searchlight leapt from Vortex's back just in time, as Vortex stepped too far back and missed the edge. His support servo stepped into thin air, and the next thing he knew he was plummeting down into the abyss below.

"_BLURR!" _Flash Bang screeched, running to the edge and looking down. By the time she got there, he was already enveloped in darkness. She did, however, hear the sickening _crunch_ as his body hit the ground below. "Oh my spark, he's _dead!"_

"Flash..." Searchlight panted, exhausted and shocked. "Flash, I..."

But he was interrupted by Flash Bang's hysterical crying. Her faceplate was in her servos and she was screaming like there was no tomorrow. Searchlight tried to plead with her, to tell her that he may have survived. But her spark hurt terribly, as if a huge portion of it had been torn away. Surely that could only mean that Blurr was dead?

* * *

><p><strong>D:<strong>

**You'll have to wait till next week to find out what happened!**

**And, yes, Prowl does have a purpose. I didn't just bring him back for the hell of it.**

**:P**

**Please review!**


	9. Everything Has a Limit

** !WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SERIOUS BODILY HARM**

**:(**

**So, yeah, I got soaked yesterday in the world's wettest downpour in the history of wet downpours. Stupid British weather...**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eight: Everything Has a Limit<span>

There was a flash of blue that glided up over the cliff edge, the very same that had entered Blurr earlier. Searchlight took a step back in surprise at the sight, unsure what to make of the ghost taking form before him. Flash Bang just called out to it.

"Prowl, what happened?" she demanded, lubricant tears streaking her faceplate. Prowl looked exhausted, despite being dead. "Is Blurr...?" She couldn't finish.

Prowl shook his head and Flash Bang's spark dared to lift the slightest amount. "He landed on a ledge quite a way down, not far enough to kill him, though," he explained. Flash Bang's faceplate turned into a relieved yet weak smile. "But I had to force him into stasis lock. The damage would have killed him, otherwise. He needs repairs and he needs them_ now."_

Searchlight was already half way to the ship as Prowl said this. Flash Bang and Prowl's ghost followed him onboard. Using the ship would be the easiest way to get Blurr's body from the ledge, but Prowl was worried what sort of reaction Flash Bang was going to have when she saw the damage done to him. It suddenly occurred to Prowl that Blurr's helm had been missing, and so he went to look for it.

Searchlight lowered the ship carefully down into the abyss, his optics scanning every ledge they passed for Blurr. Flash Bang was practically flat against the glass, her faceplate full of hope as she, too, looked. Searchlight flicked on the ship's lights as everything grew darker.

_Blurr will be hard to see down here,_ Searchlight mused. _Was it really necessary to turn his armour black?_

"There!" Flash Bang suddenly yelled, pulling Searchlight from his thoughts. Sure enough, there was a weak glowing coming from a ledge to the left of the ship. Searchlight steered towards it, and Flash Bang whimpered as she saw that the glow was Blurr's failing spark.

"Open up the hatch, _now," _Flash Bang demanded, turning and running for the hatch. Searchlight did so, putting the ship into a hover so that they could drag the comatose speedster inside.

Flash Bang was already on her knees by Blurr when Searchlight caught up to her. One of his legs had been broken off, as well as both pieces of shoulder armour. His chest was mostly gone, too, leaving his dwindling spark exposed.

"I thought this armour was supposed to be ridiculously strong?" Searchlight murmured.

"Everything has a limit," Flash Bang said quietly as she took Blurr's cranial unit in her lap. Searchlight wondered if she was only referring to the armour as she examined the damage done to her bondmate, or if there was a second meaning to her words.

Searchlight shook his cranial unit and went to pick up Blurr. The speedster was bigger than he was, but with Flash Bang's help it was easy enough to carry him in. After settling him on a basic medical berth in the ship, Searchlight went back outside for Blurr's leg and any other fractured pieces he could find.

Flash Bang sat by Blurr as Searchlight took the ship back up. She tried her best to patch up the leaking wounds on his cranial unit using what little medical skill she'd picked up from hanging around Perceptor in her younger years. She stopped dead, however, when Searchlight came up to them with a pair of stasis cuffs.

"What are you doing with those?" she demanded.

"He could come back online at any time, Flash," Searchlight warned her. "We don't want him able to move if he does."

"I don't think Vortex would push Blurr if it would lose him a body..." Flash Bang pleaded. She knew he was right, but the thought of Blurr damaged _and _in stasis cuffs made her feel like a bad line of code was running through her systems.

Searchlight put the cuffs on Blurr without another word. Satisfied that they were safe, he returned to piloting the ship, taking it back up to the landing platform.

"What happened to Prowl?" Searchlight wondered. In answer, the ghost materialised through the closed hatch.

"I found his helm," the ghost said simply. "Though I don't know how much bother it's worth. It's quite badly damaged."

"I'd rather get it than leave it here," Flash Bang replied. In response, Searchlight positioned the ship on the platform and opened up the hatch. Flash Bang followed Prowl's ghost out and into the cave, not even blinking an optic at the damage done to the hideout. She'd seen too much destruction that solar cycle to be affected by a little more. Prowl led her to Blurr's helm, half buried in broken shelving and dismantled mods. Silently, Flash Bang picked it up and dusted the dirt off it.

"There's something else I think you should see," Prowl's ghost said, quietly. Flash bang looked up at him; he was pointing towards a box of data pads that had been upturned on the floor. One was turned on, and the first thing she saw on the screen read "VORTEX". Putting the black helm under her arm, she took the data pad in her free servo, venting air through her lip modules to blow away the dust on it.

"What is it?" Prowl's ghost asked.

"Plans," Flash Bang replied. "But not for the Vortex Upgrade. It's... something else."

Prowl's ghost drifted to hover behind her, looking over her shoulder at the data pad. The glyphs written across it spoke of a detailed plan concerning the implementing of the Upgrade. Everything Scalpel had told Flash Bang and Searchlight was on there, but further in, it turned to a plan B.

_In the infinitesimally unlikely situation that the Decepticons are disbanded, the plans and materials for the VORTEX Upgrade are to go to the "neutral" bounty hunter, designation Lockdown, who will proceed to-_

The data pad went blank as its power cell died. Flash Bang would have moaned in annoyance, but this had taught her _something. _It had taught her that Lockdown had had a little more involvement in the Vortex Upgrade than he had previously stated.

"I'll kill him for this," Flash Bang hissed. "I'll kill every bot who ever had even the slightest connection to the Vortex Upgrade." Suddenly, Prowl's ghost was in front of her.

"Revenge won't get you anything," he told her, his voice calm. "The only thing you can do, or _should do, _is get Blurr to a medic."

Holding onto the data pad, Flash Bang turned on her heel strut and returned to the ship.

* * *

><p>The journey couldn't have felt longer to Flash Bang. She'd shown the data pad to Searchlight, who promised to get it powered up as soon as Blurr was in a medic's servos. After that, she'd sat by Blurr with his helm in her lap. She didn't move an inch for the entire trip.<p>

Scalpel, on the other hand, spent the entire journey eyeing up the data pad with worry, although every time one of the bots he was stuck with shot a glance at him, he pretended to be poking at the lock on his cage. His ruse seemed to be working so far.

Eventually, Searchlight began piloting the ship downwards, heading to land as close to the infirmary as possible. Flash Bang, having placed Blurr's helm in between his stasis locked servos, pushed the wheeled medical berth through the hatch as soon as it was open, careful to avoid the confused looking medics as she charged out. It didn't take long to get somebot's attention.

"What the Pit happened to Blurr?" one of the more senior medics demanded. Flash Bang remembered seeing this one in particular pressed right up against the barriers around the audience at the racetrack. He was a big fan of Blurr.

"I don't have time to explain, just get him stabilised!" Flash Bang cried. She turned to Searchlight. "I'm going to find Perceptor, stay her and comm. me if anything happens."

Searchlight nodded, although it was with some reluctance. Flash Bang ran back out of the infirmary and headed straight for Perceptor's lab.

Suddenly, Flash Bang was overcome with déjà vu. Hadn't something similar happened before? A smirk played on her lip modules as she realised this situation was horrifically similar to the day she first met the legendary speedster Blurr. But she pushed away the memories. He hadn't mattered to her then, but he did now. Right then, she was ready to give her spark to see his bright blue optics again.

She arrived at the lab, pushing the door open and smack into a young intern. Without a word of apology, she dashed on, navigating the corridors as if she was as used to them as the scientists. To be honest, she was. Soon, she was barrelling through Perceptor's door.

"Perceptor!" she cried out, relived beyond knowing to see he was there. "Perceptor, Blurr needs your help!"

"Is he a cube again?" he asked, not looking up from his work. Flash Bang growled angrily and began shouting.

"It's about a million times worse than that, you old idiot!" she yelled. "He's _dying _and not from being cubed in some stupid crusher! Why does the Metroplex even _have _crusher walls?"

"Calm down, Flash Bang," Perceptor said, finally looking at her. "Where is he?"

"In the infirmary, with Searchlight," she replied, taking deep intakes to calm herself down. "He needs your help more than ever, Perceptor. _Please, _take me _seriously_ for once!"

Perceptor would have rolled his optics if he'd had it in him, but regardless, he transformed and followed Flash Bang back to the infirmary. The sight of Blurr's broken body was a surprise to him, emotions or no.

"What happened?" he demanded, but he continued before a reply could be voiced. "Get me a protoform."

Flash Bang was suddenly overcome with a sickening fear as a fresh protoform was presented. She couldn't have them reboot Blurr's processor, but if she stayed silent, Vortex would come back online and wreak havoc. How could she keep Blurr and not get everyone hurt? Lubricant began leaking down her faceplate as the medics began to work.

Prowl's ghost watched the scene, invisible to everyone. He was filled with sorrow for Flash Bang, watching her bondmate being picked apart by medics who thought they were saving him. He had to do something. But if he was going to act, it would have to be now.

Without anyone seeing, he once again entered Blurr's body.

* * *

><p><strong>Ooh, intrigue!<strong>

**DarkGlass38 – thank you! If I make you long for Monday then I must be doing something right! xD**

**Luna Prime- Awesomeness – he's okay! Ish... *innocent whistle***

**Please review!**

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	10. Complete Domination

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS GENERAL NONSENSICAL NONSENSE**

**Yeah, not too bad this week.**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Nine: Complete Domination<span>

_Perhaps stasis lock wasn't the best idea, _thought Prowl as he onlined his optics to see what was once Blurr's processor. Now, however, it was something entirely different, to the point that Prowl struggled to give it description. The only thing he could think to call it was a fortress.

An impossibly large structure stood before him, consisting of spires and bridges and windows as high as the Metroplex. Such architecture was impossible, but then Prowl had to remind himself that he was, after all, inside Blurr's processor. Even so, the sheer size of the building before him sent his processor reeling. And such a thing rarely happened. Even so, the only thing he could really do was go inside.

As he approached the giant doors, he quickly came to the conclusion that putting Blurr into stasis lock had stopped Vortex from looking _outward, _and had made him focus _inward, _towards Blurr's processor and therefore closer to complete domination of the speedster. But why had he made a fortress? It wasn't something he had time to contemplate right then, and he was certain he'd find out the answer first servo from Vortex himself, once he was found.

_How am I to do this? _Prowl began to wonder. _Roam the fortress until I find either Vortex and destroy him, or until I find Blurr and free him from this? Is what is left of Blurr even in there?_

He put a servo against the door and pushed. It didn't budge. Fair enough. He put the other servo against it and pushed harder, throwing all his strength into moving the door. Still, it didn't budge. With a huff, he moved away from the door and looked up. There was no obvious lock of any kind on the door; it was just two vast steel slabs sat side by side.

_All I want is some fun._

Prowl looked about him for the source of the voice that could _only _be Vortex's. But the virus was nowhere to be seen. Prowl's processor wondered over the voice. Was it supposed to be a clue of some sort? If Vortex wanted fun, surely he'd have made at least _one _way inside accessible. He looked up above him and to the sides. There! A window was slightly open, just enough for him to pass through.

Prowl leapt up high, using his boosters for extra thrust. He grabbed a ledge and swung himself up, repeating the process until he was as close enough to the window to jump over to it. Digits laced around the metal of the window frame, he swung himself through the gap, landing lightly on the polished floor behind. He looked from side to side. The coast was clear, but then again, he wasn't sure whether he should be expecting hordes of mindless enemies to chase him through this place or not. Surely Vortex hadn't left the place completely deserted? If he had, then was this just a distraction?

Prowl took one step forward and found himself thrown from his support servos as the entire building began to shake vigorously, a deep thrumming not unlike the sound of a spark reverberated from the walls. Prowl was confused for a moment, but then it hit him.

_They've already begun to take out Blurr's spark!_

Prowl was suddenly running. He didn't know where he was going or what he would find. He just had to find Blurr, or Vortex, and soon. Who knew what would happen if he was still in Blurr's processor when his spark was removed? He was content with the idea of not finding out.

He took turn after turn. He jumped both up and down entire flights of stairs. He scaled walls to reach doors in unreachable places. Wherever he felt he had to go, he went, but the shaking was only getting worse. Before long, he heard a huge _crack _as one of the many spires fell from the impossible fortress.

Finally, he stopped, engines hot and venting air that wasn't really there. This whole illusion felt so real, it was unnerving. But Prowl had to do what he could. Taking a moment, he reached out with his consciousness, searching for Blurr.

_Where are you, Blurr? _Prowl concentrated hard on his question. He'd find Blurr one way of another, but his need to be quick was overpowering most of his trained skills.

_Come on, speedster. Give me something to go on! _Suddenly his optics were online and he was running again, driven down yet more corridors, ones that should have intersected with other corridors and rooms. The entire layout was becoming more and more warped, more and more impossible, as he travelled deeper into the maze he'd found himself in. But did that _mean _something? Or had Vortex just grown lazy in his design?

Soon though the corridors themselves became twisted, slanting in all angles, getting suddenly narrower and wider and the walls and floor changed repeatedly from solid to viscous and back again. It was making Prowl's processor spin, but he powered on, certain that the warped nature of his path was a sure sign that he was going in the right direction.

Finally, and with a gasp of relief, Prowl came to another huge door. This one, however, was already open, and inside it was pitch black, save for a pair of vivid red optics glaring down at a shuttered pair of dull blue ones – another sign that Vortex was winning in the fight for dominance over Blurr.

Prowl stepped into the room, moving silently to avoid alerting Vortex to his presence. But as soon as his support servo touched the ground of the void-like room, he flinched back, piercing cold tearing through the limb. What in the name of Primus was this? But he pushed on, his knee almost buckling thanks to the crippling sensation of sheer cold. It was as if he were walking across the Earth's Arctic. It was a struggle to move, but he would get there. Blurr, and Flash Bang, was counting on him.

Everything shook again. Prowl barely managed to stay on his support servos, not wanting to find out how it would feel if his whole chassis were to hit the ground. If the cold was having this kind of effect on his legs, he didn't want to feel it in the rest of his body. He couldn't help wobbling somewhat, however, finding he'd placed a servo against the invisible ground. Cold shot through his arm and he couldn't help but gasp.

The red optics turned sharply, their eerie depth boring straight into Prowl. The ninjabot couldn't help but stare back, something keeping him rooted to the spot. The optics narrowed as their owner laughed maliciously.

"Come for another visit, I see," Vortex hissed. "You're previous efforts have only pushed my own futher."

There was an echoing _thunk _as blinding white lights lit the room. It remained a void, only a white one rather than black. Prowl found it in himself to get up, levelling his gaze at Vortex. Prowl could see him clearly now, and Blurr. What he saw surprised him to no end.

Vortex clearly had imagination enough to bring him to choose a form other than a black-coloured Blurr whilst in said bot's mind. He wasn't really anything, or at least, not something that Prowl recognised. He just seemed like a shadowy mass of energy with brilliant red optics glowing somewhere in the middle. The mass moved freely, as if made of gas, but from time to time it solidified into recognisable shapes for a fleeting moment before reverting into a shadowy mass once more. At one point, it seemed to mirror Prowl's appearance, but it was so brief that the ninjabot was unsure.

Blurr, on the other servo, was sealed in a cage, chains locked tight around his body, holding him in place with barely even an inch to move. He was blue again, clearly as this was how he saw himself. But he wasn't moving, which didn't worry Prowl as much as the fact that he didn't seem to _quite_ be all there. As Prowl glared at the two of them, he noticed Blurr's outline seemed to fade before his very optics. Vortex had not just imprisoned Blurr; he was trying to _erase _him.

"Stop this at once!" Prowl commanded. "You cannot do this, Vortex!"

"I can do whatever I want with my new body!" the shadow roared. "No dead ninjabot can tell me what to do! I am the master here! You are nothing more than a pathetic nuisance! Do you really think you can stop me with the limitless power I command here?"

Prowl entered a battle stance. He had no intention of directly engaging Vortex; he didn't even know how to go about doing such a thing. The only thing he could think of that would be of any help was freeing Blurr from his cage. He shot to the left; Vortex extending his mass out towards him, reaching out with tendrils of Primus only knows what to ensnare Prowl. But Prowl wasn't a ninjabot for nothing. As luck would have it, Prowl clearly had a certain amount of power in Vortex's dreamscape, able to use the mods he'd never been without during his lifetime. What Vortex thought was Prowl was in fact a hologram, as he discovered when he phased straight through the illusion.

"Where are you?" Vortex screeched. Another Prowl dashed past him, so he once again shot out at him. Again his tendrils phased through him and again Vortex screeched in rage. The spectre looked from side to side, madly trying to search for his opponent. It wasn't until he heard rattling chains behind him that he realised where he was.

Turning back to the cage, his optics fell on Prowl, who was picking at the locks on Blurr's chains, having already passed the one on the cage itself. Prowl looked up in time to dodge, leaping out of the way of the spear-like tendrils shooting towards him at the last moment. The attack narrowly missed Blurr, instead spearing his chains and cutting him lose. Prowl pulled off a flip as he was soaring out of Vortex's way, landing on his servos and flipping again onto his support servos. He threw a smoke bomb at the creature, blinding it for just long enough to scoop up Blurr and dart away again. He ran at full pelt for the doorway, but the further he ran, the more distant the door seemed to get. Vortex chuckled cruelly behind him.

"Don't you listen?" he hissed. "This is _my _world!"

Prowl was out of ideas. Blurr was barely conscious in his arms and, literally, fading fast. Vortex seemed to gain a more solid form as Blurr became fainter. So the two were connected...

"Blurr, you have to wake up!" Prowl demanded, shaking him vigorously. "Come on, Blurr! I can't fight Vortex for you, not here!"

Vortex lashed out once more, Prowl dodging expertly. But carrying Blurr was slowing him down, despite his lack of solidness. Prowl continued to dodge around the room whilst pleading with the unconscious speedster to wake up. He was getting desperate, but what could he _do?_

"Blurr, if you can hear me, think of her, think of Flash Bang!" Prowl begged. "She's hurting over you. She _needs _you, Blurr! Your _sparklings_ needs you! If you can't break free for yourself, do it for them! She loves you; she's your _bondmate! _If she loses you she'll never be the same. Can't you _feel _her? She's so close to you, you just need to reach out!"

"_Flash..." _Blurr murmured. _"I... I love... Flash Bang..."_

The shaking suddenly grew worse. Prowl lost his grip on Blurr, both of them falling to the ground as Vortex came for them again.

* * *

><p>Flash Bang was sat in the waiting room, despondence the only emotion discernable from her entire body. She was slouching in her chair with lubricant all over her servos and faceplate. She looked a mess, and even the sympathetic yet uneasy glances given her by the passing medics and their assistants did nothing for her.<p>

Perceptor was having trouble removing the spark – something was keeping it attached and it was too risky to remove it by force. He was working closely with the best of the medics to try and do something, but nothing seemed to be working. Partially, Flash Bang was thankful for this, but otherwise she had no idea what to think.

"_Oh Primus!" _she suddenly gasped, prompting a young medic to dash over to her. Flash Bang clutched her chest plate and took in the deepest intake she could. Her spark was pulling, but not in any particular direction. It wasn't a painful or pleasurable experience, just intense. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before.

_Flash Bang...? _a voice murmured in her processor.

_Blurr? _Flash Bang replied. _You're okay?_

He didn't reply.

* * *

><p><strong>I wasn't sure how to end this chapter. I hope this is okay...<strong>

**Luna Prime- Awesomeness - sorry! I just _love _cliffhangers!**

**CiCi the Awesome - thank yoooooou! And you'll have to wait till next week to see if he's okay or not :3**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	11. Everything Will Be Alright

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS... ACTION?**

**Okay, not much to warn you about. There will next week, though...**

***cough***

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Ten: Everything Will Be Alright<span>

"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down! I've got to break free! Flash Bang needs me! Gearshift needs me! Rush needs me! Vortex has to go, _now!"_

Prowl smirked as he dropped Blurr to his support servos. The speedster was somewhat dazed at first, but after darting from one side of the ever spanning room to the other, he seemed to somewhat find his bearings and dash at Vortex. The shadow's optics widened and he evaded the speedster's charge, firing back at him with his tendrils as he had with Prowl. But it was impossible to hit Blurr with his legendary speed. Vortex was becoming erratic and worried to boot, something Prowl knew he and Blurr had to take advantage of.

As Vortex continued his volley of futile attacks, Prowl advanced, using his holoprojectors to trick Vortex into thinking that he was firing upon the shade with lasers. Luckily for Prowl, this worked like a charm, and Vortex was soon drifting back towards the empty cage. Blurr was literally running circles around Vortex, catching on to what Prowl was doing quickly and altering his actions to be of use to the ninjabot's strategy. Vortex didn't realise, but he was being herded into the very cage he'd sealed Blurr into.

Prowl remained directly in front of Vortex, firing his fake lasers as Blurr kept him central by dashing from one side of him to the other. Vortex was close to the cage now, just a little more and-

_CRACK!_

The ground shook with tremendous force, the ceiling beginning to collapse. Blurr stalled as a chunk of roof fell towards him, dodging with his usual speed but allowing an opening for Vortex to escape through. Another piece of roof came down behind the shade, crushing the cage. Dust billowed out throughout the room, and from somewhere in its murk, that horrible, vindictive laughter from Blurr's nightmares emanated.

"Did you really think defeating me would be so easy?" Vortex bellowed. "You've hardly begun to see what I can do!"

There were flashes around the room, but not of light, they were images. More specifically, they were Blurr's memories – all the bad ones. Blurr was frozen in place as he was forced to relive the pain of the crusher, the confusion of not remembering anything, the fear of losing Flash Bang. He fell to his knees, clamping his servos to his cranial unit, shaking with pain. He didn't want to go through it all again. It was so painful.

"Blurr! Hold on!" Prowl begged. "They know how to save you! But if you lose this fight, you'll lose your memories again!"

Blurr whimpered. He didn't want to forget. Not again. He didn't want that confusion, that loss. But most importantly, he didn't want to lose Flash bang.

"_Blurr!" _a voice screamed throughout the cavernous room. Blurr's cranial unit snapped up at the voice. That voice was hers, Flash Bang's. She was calling out to him. She was close.

"Flash Bang?" Blurr replied, his spark filling with warmth. The pain began to lift as the memories presented to him by Vortex were beaten back by those of Flash Bang. And not just Flash Bang, but of Wheelie and Dug Base, of his sparklings, Gearshift and Rush, or the wonderful family he'd become a part of since falling in love with his precious red femme.

In one quick movement, Blurr was back on his support servos, low down in a crouch with one servo flat against the ground for balance. He looked up at Vortex with fiery optics, a rage burning deep within them. Vortex had forced his loved ones through so much, and for what? Blurr's body? He scoffed at the idea. Even the best of the Decepticons' scientists wouldn't have a clue what made Blurr _Blurr _– truly the fastest thing on wheels. They'd just see refined mechanisms, but nothing particularly special. There were only two bots besides Blurr who knew his secret, and they'd gone offline a long time ago. Vortex's plan had been for nothing.

Blurr dashed forwards, straight at Vortex, katana in one servo and chainsaw buzzing on the back of the other. Prowl looked at him as he ran, noticing that his faint appearance was growing stronger. No longer was he fading into nothing, he was brilliant and bright once more.

He was back.

"Prowl! Help me out here!" Blurr demanded as he ran circles around Vortex, literally. "Keep him busy!"

Prowl did as asked, replacing Blurr in his distraction. Blurr, on the other servo, dashed back from the two of them, dodging more debris as it fell from the ceiling. A sudden twinge in his chest made him falter, but he pressed on. He was running out of time and had to make use of what little he had left.

This was _his _dreamscape he reminded himself as he forced his will out, erasing the debris from the ground until all was clear. But he didn't stop there. Where he had shortly before been imprisoned, he created another cage, larger, more robust. He turned and called to Prowl.

"Swap!" he shouted, charging to where Prowl was as the ninjabot leapt to the cage. "This is for me to do."

Blurr faced Vortex, whose ever changing mass formed a dark reflection of Blurr, struggling as it did so.

"Your time is up, Vortex," Blurr hissed. "It's time to get rid of you for good."

"So what, you'll risk losing your memories, _again, _just to be rid of me?" Vortex scoffed. "What about that pretty little femme of yours? She'll be distraught if you forget her."

Blurr did nothing. Vortex was pushing him, stalling for time and trying to force him into making a mistake. It wouldn't work.

"If I lose my memories, then so be it," he snarled. "At least Flash Bang won't have to worry about _you."_

Still vaguely in Blurr's shape, Vortex leapt at the speedster, shadowy tendrils lashing at him. Blurr blocked and parried every attack with his weapons, not letting a single trace of Vortex's darkness near him. The fact that Blurr was regaining strength was evident, and Vortex was worried. He felt his end coming over the horizon and his desperation rose.

"You cannot defeat me!" Vortex roared. "No matter what you do, I will always come back! I may not have _your _body, but that doesn't mean I won't have someone elses!"

Blurr hadn't thought of that. Was he the only living subject of the Vortex Upgrade? Were there others? But as quickly as the thought came, he pushed it away. That was something to worry about later.

Prowl was stood atop the cage, holding the door open in preparation for Vortex. Blurr lashed out at Vortex, his sword catching him across his undulating chest plate. Vortex yelped, but didn't seem particularly affected by the attack. Still, he seemed worried enough by Blurr regaining ground that he continued to move back, not noticing the setup around him. But Blurr realised it was a ruse when Vortex suddenly swelled to an enormous size.

"I _told _you!" Vortex roared. "I cannot be defeated by _you!"_

"_Blurr..." _came Flash Bang's voice once more. _"Blurr, I love you."_

Blurr began glowing, brilliant blue light radiating from his armour and forcing the shadow that was Vortex into submission. He wasn't sure what was happening, but one thing was for sure. He had to get out of this, if only for Flash Bang.

"_I love you, too," _he whispered.

Vortex began to scream. He fought against Blurr with everything, but Blurr's sheer determination to break away from this, from _him, _overpowered the shade. Blurr's light shrank Vortex down to his previous size, and the dazzling brilliance put him off balance. He stepped back and fell into the cage.

_CLUNK!_

Prowl slammed the cage door closed, Blurr dashing forwards to bind it shut with the strongest chains and locks he could imagine. Vortex tried to slip between the bars, but Blurr imagined them gone, replaced by solid steel walls. The invader hissed and roared inside his prison, thrashing wildly in an attempt to break free. But it was all for nothing, or so Blurr hoped.

"I can't risk him breaking loose again," Blurr murmured, half to himself, half to Prowl. "Go back to Flash Bang; tell her that whatever needs to be done _must _be done. Vortex won't stay in that cage forever, but I can hold him for long enough."

"This place is collapsing because of what the medics are doing to you," Prowl told him. "They're transferring your spark to a new protoform. They're going to-"

"Reboot me, I guessed," Blurr cut him off. "Let them do it. And tell Flash Bang that everything will be alright."

* * *

><p><strong>*gasp*<strong>

**So, what's gonna happen now? I don't know if you'd class this as a cliffhanger, but if you do, sorry for the third one in a row!**

**TFAArtFreak – I aim to update every Monday, unless something gets in the way :)**

**Luna Prime- Awesomeness – I'm sorry! D:**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	12. Absolutely Necessary

**!WARNING!**

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A NON-STICKY, FAIRLY CLEAN SEX SCENE**

**It's not terrible, but just so ya know. **

**;)**

**This is the last chapter; all that's left is the epilogue, which will either be up later today or Monday. Seeing as I made you all wait for this chapter, I may do it for today as an apology.**

**:P**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Eleven: Absolutely Necessary<span>

Flash Bang was curled up in recharge on the waiting room sofa, wrapped in a foetal position with her support servos tucked up on the seat. No-one had come to tell her anything and her exhaustion at the solar cycle's events at taken its toll on her. Searchlight had left to tell Mercury, Wheelie and Dug Base that Blurr had been found, but he hadn't been sure how much he'd say, depending on whether the sparklings were awake or not. They had been, so details had been scarce for fear of upsetting the two of them. Suffice to say, Mercury was on her way to the infirmary.

Something disturbed Flash Bang's recharge. It was a strange, cold feeling on her arm that made her shiver, as if someone with servos of ice had a hold of her. She blinked her optics online and looked up, gasping slightly as she saw Prowl's ghost looking down at her. He looked drained.

"Prowl?" she said, straightening up as she realised that _he _was back. "What happened? Is Blurr okay? They've already taken his spark out but I didn't tell them to reboot him."

Prowl's faceplate dropped lower than it already had been. "He's beaten back Vortex," he replied, slowly. Before she could get too joyful he added, "But he _needs _rebooting. Vortex will break free if it does not happen."

Flash Bang slumped back into the seat, rubbing her faceplate with one servo, trying to hold back the lubricant tears. Prowl's ghost hovered in front of her, sympathy scrawled across his faceplate. Never before had he wanted more to be a physical being again, just so he could offer the femme before him comfort.

"He asked me to tell you that everything will be alright," Prowl's ghost added. "He promised it, Flash Bang. He _promised _to come back to you."

"But will he?" Flash Bang asked quietly. "Will he _really _come back?"

Prowl's ghost didn't answer; he didn't trust himself to be kind and sincere at the same time. All he could do was stay silent and hope. A door slid open across the room, prompting Prowl to vanish so as not to be seen. It was Perceptor who entered the room.

"Flash Bang," he said, his voice not helping Flash Bang's mood at all. "Blurr's spark has been transferred successfully, but there are still signs of malign coding in his processor."

Flash Bang didn't look at him. She began shaking, as she seemed to do so often recently. "Reboot him," she managed to croak out. "Do it quick and get it over with."

"Flash Bang-"

"_Now!" _she yelled at the scientist, who hurriedly returned to the ward where Blurr lay comatose. Flash Bang just curled up tighter and let the lubricant flow.

_One megacycle later._

Mercury hadn't been much longer. Flash Bang had woken up out of a second exhausted recharge to find her femme creator's arms wrapped around her, one servo rubbing the younger femme's arm in an effort to comfort her.

"Searchlight told me everything on the way here," Mercury whispered as she felt Flash Bang wake up. "I'm here for you, sweetspark, as always."

"Thank you, Mercury," Flash Bang replied quietly, but her tone made it clear that she didn't feel her thanks. Mercury could only frown, worried for her creation's mental wellbeing. The past few solar cycles had taken a hefty toll on her, and Flash Bang was no good at hiding it.

The door to Blurr's ward hissed open, a junior medic stepping out. "Flash Bang?" she called out. "Blurr is awake."

Flash Bang was on her support servos in a second, striding over to the door. The medic let her pass without a word, bowing her head slightly. She didn't say a word about how the speedster was; perhaps believing that Flash Bang seeing him for herself was the best idea.

The first thing Flash Bang saw was Perceptor, standing over a blue-armoured bot. It took Flash Bang a moment to realise it was him, Blurr, in his original colouration. This made her spark lift slightly, but not enough to erase the worry. Perceptor sensed her approach and turned to her.

"He's fully functioning, conscious, and the virus appears to be completely gone," Perceptor told her. "We're still running diagnostics on his systems, but we can't find anything. However, his memories are completely gone."

Flash Bang did not cry. She was either out of lubricant or beyond doing so. She didn't know, either way, or care. Perceptor moved away from Blurr, who was propped up on his berth and looking about the room, clearly confused. As she saw him, she instinctively reached out with her bond which, to her surprise, prompted a response from him.

"Oh!" he gasped, clutching his chest plate. "What was that?"

"I... I think it was me, Blurr," Flash Bang said slowly, hope beginning to break through the pain. He looked up at her, with curious optics. Flash Bang couldn't think of anything other than the day she'd first met the speedster, so long ago now, only now she had an attachment to the mech. She didn't want to go on a quest to recover Blurr's memories; she wanted him to have them all intact. She wanted him to remember her, remember Gearshift and Rush, remember Dug Base, Wheelie, Mercury, what he'd been through, all of his harrowing experiences, all of his uplifting ones. She wanted Blurr to remember that _he was Blurr._

"Flash Bang's going to take you home with her," Perceptor told Blurr, gesturing to Flash Bang. The femme knew she'd heard this conversation before. "She'll take care of you."

Flash Bang stepped forwards. "Hello," she said quietly, pushing out with her spark once again. Blurr seemed relaxed by the feeling of connection and smiled slightly.

"Hello," he replied. "Do I know you?"

Those were four little words Flash Bang had been dreading, but something in her spark told her to just bear it. It was going to get better, even if she had to reconstruct his memory all over again. She pushed out with her bond a little more as she extended a servo.

"Yes," she said softly. "We live together here in Iacon. We have a family. They're very excited to see you again."

Blurr didn't say anything more; he just took her servo and stood up. He was a little unsteady on his support servos, but with Flash Bang's patient support he stayed upright. They walked out into the waiting room together, where Mercury was sat waiting. A restrained smile spread across her faceplate. She rose from her seat and took Flash Bang's spare servo, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Hello, Blurr," she said warmly. "I don't suppose you remember me?"

Blurr shook his cranial unit. "Sorry, ma'am," he said quietly. Mercury chuckled at his politeness.

"I have a sneaking sense of déjà vu," the purple and silver femme said to Flash Bang, who gave a weak smile in response. She added in a whisper, "Don't worry, sweetspark. Just keep working that bond."

Mercury was as good a liar as she was a lie detector, capable of keeping secrets close to her chest plate and only revealing them if absolutely necessary. There were situations where she tended to be holding all the holocards, and Flash Bang had learnt long ago that the mysteries of the spark and the power of a bond were two things that she certainly had all the metaphorical holocards of. There was something she could sense in what was happening between Flash Bang and her amnesiac bondmate that she wasn't telling the red femme, which usually meant it was something Flash Bang had to find out for herself.

Mercury led the way outside, Flash Bang towing Blurr behind her, who was looking around the infirmary's interior with curiosity, followed closely, a thoughtful look on her faceplate. What did Mercury know that she didn't? She was dragged from her pondering as she felt Blurr pull against her, having stopped to look at the stars above Iacon. She gave him a firm but gentle pull onwards.

"You can admire the stars another night," she said, trying to keep her voice soft. "We need to get home."

"Where do we live?" Blurr asked quietly, resuming the walk. Flash Bang pointed ahead of them.

"See that really tall building over there? The one with the lit up spire on the top?" she asked him. After a moment, he nodded. "We live on that building's top floor. It's one of Iacon's most luxurious apartments."

"Why do _we _live there?"

"Because _you, _Blurr, are a famous racer," Flash Bang said, a hint of pride sneaking into her voice. "And a former spy. You were the best spy Autobot Intelligence had – I remember how badly they wanted to keep you when you resigned. But the war was over by then, they didn't _need _you anymore... Any of this sounding familiar?"

Blurr looked thoughtful for a moment, but eventually shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I really can't remember anything before waking up in there." He gestured back at the infirmary. Flash Bang huffed slightly, but forced something resembling a smile onto her faceplate.

"It won't take long to get there," she promised.

It was a mere few cycle later when the three of them stood shoulder to shoulder in the lift of the skyscraper. Mercury had one servo on her creation's arm for most of the trip, a silent urge to be patient. Flash Bang secretly wished that her femme creator would tell her what she needed to know. Perhaps she could wheedle it out of her...

_Ding!_

The doors slid open and Flash Bang was drawn out of her maelstrom thought process. The apartment was empty and silent, save for the gentle buzz of the halogen lights dangling from the ceiling. Flash Bang led Blurr inside, showing him to a seat and turning to Mercury.

"Will you stay for a bit?" she asked. It sounded more like a plea. Mercury put her servos on the younger femme's shoulders, a half-smile on her lip modules.

"You don't need me now," she assured the red femme. "Just take it easy. Don't try to swamp his processor with information about the two of you. Answer his questions, exercise patience, and don't worry about the sparklings. Their... uncles... and I have it all under control."

Ignoring the pause before the word "uncles" was said, Flash Bang replied, "Thank you, Mercury," though she didn't feel very thankful. Mercury squeezed her arms gently, then turned back to the lift and descended to the lobby. Flash bang stood, staring at the closed doors for a moment, before turning back to Blurr with a forced smile. He looked at her expectantly and, as instinct, she reached out with her bond to him. He frowned slightly and shifted in his seat, moving a servo to his chest.

"What _is _that? Can _you _feel it?" he asked, expectancy returning to his optics. Flash Bang's smile became a little more genuine.

"It's _me _doing it, Blurr," she explained. "We're bonded. Do you know what that means?"

Blurr took a moment to think, looking down at the floor for a few seconds before looking back at the femme and saying, "It means that... we're very important to each other... Right?"

Flash Bang grinned slightly, moving closer to him. "Yes, Blurr," she said. "We fell in love a long time ago. And it... it _pains _me to see that you don't remember..."

Her smile faltered as her optics filled with lubricant. She tried to hide it behind a servo, but a loud sob broke through. Her shoulder began to shake, but before she could truly begin to cry, she felt warm servos gently encircle her own, pulling them away from her faceplate. Blurr looked into her optics with concern, and she gazed back with pain. But then he pushed her servos down, out of the way, and leant forward until his lip modules were just a fibre's breadth away from hers.

"Flash Bang..." Blurr breathed, his warm intakes flowing over her faceplate. Her lip modules parted instinctively, expectant, longing. It was a moment longer when Blurr moved in, pressing his lip modules firmly against his forgotten bondmate's. Flash Bang's servos tightened around Blurr's, the mech's mirroring the action. They didn't move for a long time, Flash Bang revelling in the fact that _something _of their mutual feelings was coming back to Blurr, whereas Blurr was just amazed that this felt_ so right._

His glossa slipped out, asking for entry with a caress of her lower lip module. She accepted, massaging the invading glossa with her own and treasuring every second of it. Her servos slid from Blurr's moving up to lie on his chest plate. Blurr's moved to hold her waist, pulling her chassis closer to his. His servos began to explore her, gently stroking up and down her slim sides. She put her servo round the back of his cranial unit, keeping him from moving away. Their cooling fans kicked in simultaneously, neither pausing.

Blurr's servos moved to her thighs, grabbing them and pulling them up around his waist as she rearranged her grip to be around his neck. Flat against him, she could feel the heat in his crotch plate, happy to feel the same desire in herself for the first time in however long it had been. Blurr's strength had always been fun to exploit during interfacing.

Blurr carried Flash Bang to the recharge room, gently setting her down on the edge of the berth and pushing her onto her back. She wasn't entirely certain how he could be so sure of himself, for all he knew, she could have been lying about them being in love. But the feel of a bond... it was almost instinct to a Transformer, a warm and safe sensation that could not truly be repressed or ignored. Flash Bang's was wonderfully intense right then.

Everything seemed amplified, every touch, every sound, every movement sent such intense feelings of pleasure through her body. They were connected before long; Blurr's spike erect in her valve, deep and solid and making her gasps and moans ever louder. Everything he did was just as he had ever done it, strong and graceful, starting slowly and building into a speeding crescendo. She'd always found it odd how he did that; starting slow when he was the fastest thing on Cybertron, but she liked it. Soon enough, her chest plate clicked open. His followed suit.

The sense of their bond became even more powerful, making Blurr pause for the slightest moment. Glittering light from their sparks danced between their chests, lighting up the room in a vivid spectrum of star-like specks of light. There was an almost magnetic pull, drawing their chassis together. Heat coursed through Flash Bang as her world lit up and their sparks connected, memories and feelings flashing through her processor.

That was when it clicked. Mercury had told her to "work the bond", and wasn't that what she was doing? They were connected, spark to spark, overloading as one. What happened during an overload? Everything the two bots knew and felt was shared. She was a living backup of Blurr's memories!

"_Oh my spark!" _Blurr gasped as everything suddenly came rushing back to him. Everything was there, flashing through his cranial unit. From his early life, to being a racer, his days as a spy, falling in love with Flash Bang. Everything she had learnt from him during their previous interfacings returned to him. Pretty much the only thing he was missing was what he'd experienced as Vortex. This wasn't a bad thing, he quickly decided.

Everything went silent for a moment, only the sound of whirring cooling fans disturbed the peace. Neither of them moved, Blurr was too shocked at having his memories back so suddenly and Flash Bang was on the verge of recharge from the intensity of what had just passed.

"Flash..." Blurr said, as if trying his voice. A moment later, a grin appeared on his faceplate and he dived into a rather awkward hug. "Oh spark, Flash Bang!"

"Hey, Blurr," Flash Bang giggled, an equally large grin on her own faceplate. She hugged him back, trying to stay awake. "Good to have you back."

"How did you get rid of Vortex?" he asked. She shook her cranial unit slightly.

"I don't know, Blurr," she said. "Prowl's ghost entered your body and helped you, but I don't know the details." She paused a moment. "What was it... like? You know, being Vortex?"

"I don't remember," he replied. "If you don't know, then neither do I. Honestly, I like it that way. I don't want to know what it was like being... _that._ I do wish I hadn't seen how you felt when he tried to interface with you, though... I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Blurr," she shushed him. "None of this has been your fault. If anyone is to blame, it should be me for being caught by Dark Spark."

Blurr clamped a servo over her mouth. "I disagree. You have nothing to be blamed for so don't start getting wound up over it. You're no fun when you're in a mood."

Flash Bang laughed. "Thanks, Blurr, _sweetspark."_

Blurr's optics went slightly wide. "Where are the sparklings?"

"With Mercury, Wheelie and Dug Base," she replied offhandedly. "We'll go get them later. Right now, I want a stasis nap."

The two settled down on the berth, Blurr's arms wrapped around her waist as they fell into recharge, smiles etched onto both their faceplates.

* * *

><p><strong>Epically long chapter is long! It's like the old days with Fragments!<strong>

**:P**

**Luna Prime- Awesomeness – I swear you're psychic! You keep guessing what I'm planning! xD**

**TFAArtFreak – Thank you! Sorry for making you wait xD What was that I was saying about every Monday? LOL!**

**Please review!**

**:D**


	13. Epilogue

**This is it! The end! D: How did I get this far?**

**Enjoy!**

**:D**

* * *

><p><span>Epilogue<span>

"Who are _you?" _Rush demanded of the tall blue bot that walked into Nanny Mercury's home alongside her femme creator. He looked very familiar, but she didn't know any bots that were that particular shade of blue.

"Rush!" Flash Bang chuckled. "Don't be so rude. It's Blurry, sweetspark."

"But Blurry has _black _armour," she insisted. Gearshift was also a little speculative of the blue armoured mech, but the familiarity of those optics had him running into a hug.

"Blurry's home!" he cheered. "I missed you, Blurry!"

"I missed you, too, Gearshift!" Blurr cooed to his creation, picking him up and holding him high in the air. Rush moved to hold onto Flash Bang's leg.

"Flashy, is that _really _Blurry?" she asked, her big blue optics wide and expectant. Flash Bang scooped the little maroon femme up and sat her on her hip.

"Of _course _he is!" Flash Bang cooed softly, putting her servo against the little one's helm. "He was _always_ blue, you know, before Gearshift and you were protoformed."

"_Really?"_ Rush asked, amazed. She looked at her mech creator, who was sat on the sofa by Mercury with Gearshift on his knee. Blurr winked at her with a grin, making Rush gasp in recognition and wriggle out of Flash Bang's grip to clamber into her mech creator's lap. Mercury smiled warmly at the scene as Blurr hugged his creations from behind, making them both squeal happily. The purple femme moved over to Flash Bang.

"You worked the bond, I see," she said with a chuckle. "Well done, sweetie. You've done so well."

"Thank you, Mercury," Flash Bang replied. "The little ones haven't been too much trouble, have they?"

"Not for me," Mercury said with a laugh. "Dug Base and Wheelie wouldn't say the same."

As if on cue, the two of them appeared at the door. Mercury welcomed them in, and laughed alongside her creation as the two of them scooped Blurr up into a huge hug.

"It's so good to have you back! These sparklings have been putting us out of whack!" Wheelie cheered. Blurr laughed.

"Oh, come on, they're not _that _bad! Are they?" Blurr asked with a laugh. Dug Base released him and Wheelie, letting them drop gently to the ground.

"Uncle Wheelie!" the two sparklings called out, running towards the little orange mech and tackling him in a hug. Dug Base did an odd, beating sound similar to a laugh before pulling Wheelie free of the tangled mess he'd become stuck in. Flash Bang and Blurr laughed together at the sight.

"Don't we have to get going?" Blurr said. "That reservation won't keep, you know! We need to get going or they'll give away our table."

"We're going out?" Gearshift asked, scampering over to Blurr. "Where to?"

"A lovely little restaurant that Mercury told us about," Flash Bang told the green sparkling. "Joe Robotoni's, right, Mercury?"

"That's right," Mercury replied. "The original Gearshift took me there, once. Wasn't the best night of my life, but it was sweet of him."

"You'll have to tell us all about you two, sometime," Flash Bang said. "Everyone's curious."

"That's a story for another night. You four go have fun now," she commanded, opening the door to let them out. Rush and Gearshift dashed outside, Blurr hot on their heel struts. Flash Bang turned and gave Mercury a hug before turning for the door, waving to Dug Base and Wheelie with a "thank you" before running after her creations.

* * *

><p>"Good night, sweetsparks," Flash Bang said softly as she turned off the light in Gearshift and Rush's recharge room.<p>

"Night night, Flashy," they replied in unison. Flash Bang shut the door gently behind her, walking back into the expansive living room. She didn't stop in there, however, she instead walked out onto the balcony, which gave her a dazzling view of night time Iacon. She leant against the railing, taking in the view, her intakes slow and quiet. They'd had a lovely evening as a family, but Flash Bang felt a little melancholy. She wasn't sure why, however.

"Well done, Flash Bang," a voice said. With a gasp, Flash Bang spun around to look down the balcony. It was Prowl's ghost, glowing brightly as looked over Iacon. "Gearshift will be proud of you."

"Thank you for all of your help, Prowl," Flash Bang replied. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"What I did wasn't strictly speaking necessary," he told her. "But I am glad to have been of service."

Flash Bang bowed her head to him. "We owe you."

"There is nothing you could give me, Flash Bang," he told her firmly. "It is reward enough to know that you and your family are safe."

Flash Bang felt her optics fill with lubricant. "You shouldn't have had to die back in Detroit. No-one asked you to give your spark, it isn't fair on you!"

"That's life, Flash Bang," Prowl's ghost said. "Nothing can be done now." He paused for a moment as Flash Bang dropped her cranial unit in defeat. He had one last thing to say to her before he left. "When I was within Blurr, Vortex said something about Blurr not being his only victim. I don't expect you to do anything, but if you could find somebot who could look into it, I think you should get them on the case. This can't go ignored forever. Imagine the damage he could do if he's in other chassis!"

Flash Bang thought for a moment. "Searchlight's on his way with Scalpel to the Elite Guard right now. I'll contact him and ask him to see what he can do."

"Thank you, Flash Bang," Prowl replied. "It'll be to everybot's benefit." He moved away from her then, floating in mid air. "I have to go now; I'm all out of time on this plain. I promise to tell Gearshift everything that's happened, and I _know _he'll be proud of you. You've come so far in life, Flash Bang. You don't deserve the troubles you've been put through."

"Thank you, Prowl, for your help _and _your praise," Flash Bang replied. "Tell Gearshift I love him."

With a half-smile, Prowl's ghost faded away forever.

* * *

><p>"There are more of them?" Searchlight asked Flash Bang, aghast. "I'll tell the Elite Guard when I get there, okay? Don't worry, this'll get sorted out."<p>

"_I trust you, Searchlight," _Flash Bang replied over the comm. link. _"Honestly, I think you're more cut out for this than the Elite Guard is."_

Searchlight laughed. "Don't give me _all _the credit, Flash. I learnt a lot from them, you know."

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah, just don't let me down," _Flash Bang grinned. _"I'll catch you later, okay?"_

"Sure thing, Flash, take care," Searchlight replied, turning off his comm. link. He lent back in the pilot's chair of his ship, happy that things had turned out okay. Feeling the need to rub it in someone's faceplate, he turned to the cage where Scalpel was locked.

"Hear that? Blurr's okay," he hissed. "Your little experiment did nothi-"

He stopped dead as he looked at the cage, his optics going wide. The door was open. It was empty.

"Oh, Primus!" he yelled, leaping up and grabbing the cage. He looked around him, panic on his faceplate as he tried to locate the escapee Decepticon. "Where the Pit did you go?"

* * *

><p>Lockdown was roused from his stasis nap as he felt something connect to the ends of his legs where support servos had once been. He onlined an optic, looking along to berth to whatever was doing something to him. A tiny silver mech was attaching replacement support servos to his legs as he slept; probably unaware that Lockdown was online.<p>

"D'ya mind?" he grumbled. "Tryin' to get some recharge here."

Scalpel looked up at him. "Do jou vant to get out of here or not?" he demanded. "The guards are offline, the lights vill go out in a moment und jour support servos are nearly done."

Lockdown noticed that the support servo Scalpel wasn't attaching was complete and working already. It was plain silver, and would need customising as soon as possible, just like the other one. He moved it about. It was stiff like every other new addition to his chassis had been at first, but it would feel normal soon.

"So how'd it go?" Lockdown grumbled.

"Our little experiment?" Scalpel asked. "Perfectly vell. Complete success. The Vortex Upgrade is nearly ready for its full implementation."

Lockdown chuckled. "Good to hear. So, how ya gettin' me outta here?"

* * *

><p><strong>END<strong>

**Finally done! Not that I didn't enjoy this! It's been great fun, writing these characters. I love them all! But, for Flash Bang and Blurr, the adventure is over.**

**Yes, I may have left this on an epic cliffhanger, but if I do pursue it, it won't be with Flash Bang and/or Blurr as the main characters. If any of these, it'll be the sparklings... I'll have to come up with a brilliant story before I do decide to do it, though!**

**In the meantime, I have a prequel story planned! All about the relationship between Gearshift (original) and Mercury! It won't be a fabulous adventure like these three stories have been – it'll be more about emotions and feelings and blah blah blah...**

**xP**

**Luna Prime- Awesomeness – thank you once again for your regular reviews! I love getting your comments so much!**

**DarkGlass38 – not heard from you in a while! D: I hope you're okay and thank you for all your reviews!**

**TFAArtFreak – as said above, yep! At least one more story in this series before I'm done forever :)**

**CiCi the Awesome – thank you! Feel free to speculate over the ending if I don't get round to writing a next part any time soon :P**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed my story! Thank you to everyone who added the story or me to their favourites! And thank you to everyone who added the story or me to their watch! Every little thing you do to support me means the world to me!**

**And finally, please review!**

**:D**


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